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MOBILE AMBITION: Mr Green plans on investing in mobile to push ahead of the pack
GOING LIVE: Spotlight on how the live betting sector is continuing to grow and grow and grow
NOT ADDING UP: David Archer has grave reservations about the recent ASA report into gambling advertising
ESSENTIAL GUIDE 18
iGAMING NEWS 8
COMMENT 33
£5.20 (€8.30) • ISSUE:123 • DECEMBER 2014 • www.betting-business.co.uk
The research into gambling machines has finally arrived, although there are few concrete conclusions that can be made from the studies. RESEARCH
he long awaited research into g a m i n g machines commissioned by the Responsible Gambling Trust has suggested that reducing stake levels will not simply reduce the incidence of problem gambling and that a behavioural approach should be taken. One of the main findings of the research, which comprises several different strands, seems to be that it is possible to identify problem gambling behaviour (as identified by the PGSI scale) on gaming machines and therefore predict when players are ‘at risk of gambling harm’. As a result, it makes it possible to intervene to prevent it from occurring. The research is unprecedented in scale in that it analyses almost seven billion interactions between gambling customers and category B2 gaming machines, thanks mainly to the co-operation of the industry. While frustratingly for some it does not provide what the politicians wanted - ie a hard and fast conclusion that they could use to
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THE RESEARCH ANALYSED SEVEN BILLION INTERACTIONS ON B2 GAMING MACHINES
£2 stake reduction ‘silver bullet’ branded ineffective show action against problem gambling - the academics involved are extremely pleased to be involved in such a wide-ranging report on a subject where there is very little data. Professor Alex Blaszczynski, chairman of the independent review panel, said: “It is important to highlight the substantive and world-leading contribution to our understanding of problem gambling made by
this research. This programme represents the first collaborative endeavour between multiple industry operators and independent researchers. It is of outstanding significance.” David Excell, who founded Featurespace in 2005 to use Adaptive Behavioural Analytics and was a key proponent in the research, commented: “There have been many fascinating insights that have
come from this; the most detailed analysis of how gamblers behave that has ever been undertaken. What we have learned, and the model we have developed, should allow step-changes to be made in protecting those vulnerable to addiction from machines. By using technology to learn the behaviours associated with gambling harm, we can meaningfully impact a social challenge by predict-
www.microgaming.co.uk
ing which players are at risk. “For me, the leading takeaway from the study is this: no single metric can be used to address problem gambling, which results from a combination of factors. There are interventions that will divert people from becoming problem gamblers, but each must be evaluated and tested for effectiveness according to the behaviour of the individual. In other words, the £2
stake limit often seen as the silver bullet is ineffective.” Responsible Gambling Trust chairman Neil Goulden suggested the research will lead to the industry and regulators taking a different approach in harm minimisation when it comes to problem gambling. He explained: “The researchers have shown that it is possible to distinguish between problem and non-problem gaming machine play, and they have provided many important insights about player behaviour. This research has huge potential to inform the industry’s approach to minimising gamblingrelated harm and we strongly urge the industry to make every effort to improve how problem behaviour is more effectively monitored and managed in the future.” Clive Efford MP, Labour’s Shadow Minister for Sport and potentially the next Culture Secretary, underlined the perhaps unrealistic hopes that politicians had for the research. He commented: “The findings of this study leave many questions unanswered and more research is required if we are to understand the patterns of behaviour of people who have gambling problems. It shows that Labour was right to call for more interactions between staff and people playing these machines and for warnings to interrupt play when people have been playing for long periods. “It is disappointing that this research cannot tell us how levels of stakes and prizes impact on problem gamblers. This was promised by the Prime Minister and it is hugely embarrassing for him that it does not provide the information.”
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News
Inability for rational debate on problem gambling an issue The chief at the RGA believes it is now ‘heresy’ for the industry to challenge problem gambling accusations, no matter how hysteric they may be. DEBATE
live Hawkswood, the chief executive of the Remote Gambling Association (RGA), has bemoaned the standard of debate on problem gambling in the UK, claiming it’s nigh on impossible for the industry to defend itself at the moment. Speaking at the association’s AGM, Hawkswood said that while problem gambling has dominated the political, media and industry debate, the discussion has been one-way traffic. Pointing out the results over the past 15 years of the relevant gambling studies and the reported incidence of problem gambling (1999: 0.6, 2007: 0.6, 2010: 0.9, 2014 0.5 – DSM-IV score), Hawkswood said the rate has barely changed. “Some people like to say they have dropped,” he commented. “I’m not sure I would draw that conclusion from the figures, but it’s fair to say they have barely changed at all. Despite that it’s become almost heresy to question debate about problem gambling for fear of seeming uncaring. “Between 1999 and 2014 we had a hug change in the industry. Online gambling barely existed back then. We had FOBTs which have been flavour of the month for years. We’ve had new advertising freedoms since 2007. As the market has evolved, the world hasn’t come to an end and those problem gambling rates haven’t shifted.” Hawkswood pointed out that there’s a general consensus, not just
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among lay people but academics as well, that the more gambling opportunities made available, the more problem gambling there would be. But this hasn’t borne out in the past 15 years across a gambling industry which has seen massive change. He added: “What I have found frustrating over the years is that some academics have sent us off in completely the wrong direction. The government and others have spent so much time taking cheap shots at us they forgot to ask themselves if we actually have an issue.” Hawkswood said that there were still a lot of problem gamblers, even at this relatively low level, and that the industry has a responsibility to those people. He said: “We’ve got to keep working hard on prevention and treatment, but the inability to have a rational debate in Parliament and the media is hindering rather than helping matters.” The RGA believes that the antiindustry sentiment is what instigated the two recent reviews into gambling advertising. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) admitted at the start of its review that the huge increase in TV advertising since 2007 prompted the review (even if it was illegal before this time) and that there was concern that more advertising leads to more problem gambling – even though the problem gambling findings contradicted this. Fortunately, the review was mainly level headed. Hawkswood com-
mented: “This has been the biggest piece of market research carried into the subject and the results are clear. The research does not show anything like public concern over gambling advertising.” The industry is continuing to develop social responsibility initiatives as well. The RGA has been working very closely with the Gambling Commission on MOSES - Multiple Operator Self Exclusion System, which will allow one player to exclude themselves across several operators using a single input. However while such a concept might sound simple, in reality there are many technological and legal hurdles to overcome before an effective system can be put in place. “It’s not easy,” explained Hawkswood. “But it will be good for us, good for the Gambling Commission and good for the consumer. Exclusion is not a panacea by any means, we know that problem gambling is not that simple, but it will help and it is reasonable to expect us to support it.” Hawkswood also questioned the latest batch of consultations on reforming the Horserace Betting Levy. “The DCMS is playing a dangerous game in talking about a replacement to the Levy. The Levy has stood the test of time and sometimes is better the Devil you know. It would be a huge gamble for government and racing. You have to ask yourself why they would take it.”
CLIVE HAWKSWOOD POINTED OUT THAT THE REASON THERE HAD BEEN A HUGE INCREASE IN GAMBLING ADVERTISING ON TV SINCE 2007 WAS THAT OPERATORS WERE UNABLE TO DO SO BEFOREHAND
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BettingBusinessInteractive • DECEMBER 2014
Player beha safeguards than time a
The research into B2 gaming machines shou with many areas requiring a close look at how GAMING MACHINES
aming machine players with loyalty cards have proved to be a useful mine of information for the Responsible Gambling Trust’s research by providing key data on behaviour. The data from more than 4,000 players has enabled NatCen, Featurespace and RTI International to develop predictive models which show a 66 per cent improvement in the accuracy of detecting problem gamblers compared with current responsible gambling interventions used by bookmakers. While this might sound like a huge breakthrough, the modelling involved in this way requires the use of player tracking data such as a loyalty card. When the model is applied to anonymous session play (ie a person coming in off the street, sitting down and starting to play) then the modelling is not as effective. However it is still far and away more effective than
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the current system as distinguishing between problem and non-problem gambling sessions was 550 per cent more accurate than the baseline model - intervention after 30 minutes or £250 spend - which performed little better than random. The data suggested that the current protections against gambling harm could be improved remarkably by switching to player and sessional behaviour analytics, with very little impact on those players not in danger of developing a problem. While this report also suggested that reducing the stake to £2 would be an ineffective tool against problem gambling when used in isolation, a study into stake size and its impact on a player’s control flagged up some interesting conclusions. The research, led by the University of Lincoln, found that some decision making ability was compromised when high stakes were played. However it also found impairment with
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Retail betting half UK gambling market The retail betting market represents 47 per cent of the directly regulated UK market according to official figures from the Gambling Commission. The British gambling industry, as regulated by the Commission, generated a gross gambling yield (GGY) of over £6.8bn between April 2013 and March 2014, a rise of almost £0.4bn (6 per cent) compared to the period April 2012 to March 2013. However considering that over that period the majority of online operators were based offshore it is expected that the remote gambling industry is hugely under-represented with these figures.
MONITORING PLAYER BEHAVIOUR IS A MORE EFFECTIVE SAFEGUARD AGAINST PROBLEM GAMBLING
PMU joins ESSA membership in fight against match fixing CORRUPTION
rench gambling operator PMU has become the latest high-profile company to join ESSA, the regulated betting industry’s integrity body. The inclusion of the PMU is perceived as an important addition to an evolving ESSA membership, which currently has fixed odds retail and online operations covering Europe, Asia, Australia and America, whilst the PMU is the leading pari-mutuel operator in Europe and ranks second worldwide. ESSA secretary-general Khalid Ali commented: “As an early warning system, ESSA’s ability to provide intelligence on irregular or suspicious betting activity is considerably enhanced by the PMU becoming a member of our association. I’m looking forward to working closely with the PMU as we continue to strive for new and better ways to keep betting related match-fixing out of sport for good.” PMU general secretary Pierre Pages added: “We are constantly aware of the need for all of sport’s stakeholders to work together to combat match-fixing. We believe that ESSA, with its excellent links not only with sports governing bodies but also regulators and other intelligence units, is the correct platform to coordinate this effort.” The announcement comes in a month that saw the shadow of corruption fall across the game of French football again. November saw French police take four Marseille officials into custody during a probe into the club’s transfer dealings, while nine
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ehaviour rds more effective me and spend limits
hines should give plenty of food for thought to bookmakers look at how the machines are operated.
some lower stake gambling and in both winning and losing scenarios, prompting a call for more research in this area, not least trying to replicate the results in a real gambling environment. A report into ‘return to player’ messaging also found that the current system of informing players on their chances of winning had mixed effectiveness with technical language and mathematical concepts confusing to some players. It recommended testing alternate wordings for RTO messaging to find out what was effective. The Responsible Gambling Trust is understandably pleased at the extent of the research, which is unmatched across the world. “This research speaks for itself,” said chief executive Marc Etches. “The government, the gambling regulator and the industry all asked us to provide wholly independent research using industry-held data to help inform
policy decisions and we have delivered a groundbreaking set of papers in just ten months. When we started this programme there was no credible research into gaming machines in licensed betting offices. Our understanding of these machines and the way people use them is now greatly enhanced. “The bookmaking industry deserves credit for opening itself up to scrutiny. We hope that everyone will consider carefully how the findings of this ground-breaking research can be used to help all gamblers to make better informed decisions and, in particular, to protect those that are vulnerable to gambling-related harm.” Paul Darling QC, chairman of the Association of British Bookmakers (ABB), added: “Bookmakers welcome this groundbreaking report, which we have supported through the provision of a huge amount of data to ensure it is as
comprehensive and accurate as possible. This research clearly demonstrates the fact that gambling related harm is a very complex issue which, cannot be tackled by looking at one product or any single measure in isolation. It is imperative that any improvements to existing controls properly reflect these findings.” Darling said that the industry is committed to reducing gambling related harm and pointed out that it has already taken action on matters including opening hours, advertising, self-exclusion and tools to help customers to stay within their own limits. He added: “Some of our members are already using gaming machine customer data to identify potential problems and, thereby better targeting customer interventions. We will now use this evidence to help determine how the industry can further help those customers who may be at risk.”
ANALYSIS While the research is no doubt robust, world leading and groundbreaking in terms of player behaviour analytics, it does provide the industry with a political problem – there is no ‘easy win’ for politicians to implement – which might have put a full stop to the issue of gambling until after next year’s election. Instead politicians may be compelled to impose measures which might not actually be justified from the research in an effort to look tough on gambling. The tone of the discussion of the various tranches of research suggest that might be the imposition of accountonly play on gaming machines in order to keep tabs on all player behaviour, and the slow-creep of big brother gambling regulation which might find itself imposed across all gambling, except of course the National Lottery.
others were arrested as part of an investigation into alleged match fixing. Jean-François Fortin, the president of the Ligue 1 club Caen, was among nine arrested on suspicion of fixing the result of a game between his team and Nîmes last season, allowing the southern club to stay in Ligue 2. The game ended in a 1-1 draw on 13 May this year, allowing Nîmes to stay in Ligue 2 while Caen virtually secured their promotion to the elite that day. News reports say that the Nîmes president, Jean-Marc Conrad, was also arrested. Unusually the betting industry has not been implicated, which makes a refreshing change for ESSA, which launched its new corporate identity earlier this year reflecting its increasing global presence. It has also been improving its reporting and early warning system, which it now considers to be even more efficient and accessible following considerable investment in cutting-edge technology, providing a more flexible and robust platform and making the association uniquely equipped to deal with betting integrity issues. ESSA also plays an important role as the sector’s representative body at match-fixing policy deliberations held at the European Commission and Council of Europe, as well as the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Last month Betting Business spelled the name of Catherine Colloms, Paddy Power’s director of corporate affairs, incorrectly. We apologise for any confusion caused.
KHALID ALI: ‘LOOKING FORWARD TO WORKING CLOSELY WITH THE PMU’
BettingBusinessInteractive • DECEMBER 2014
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iGaming
O’Reilly to leave Gala Coral in online reorganisation The Gala and Coral online brands are going to be led by the same management team after an internal shake-up. ORGANISATION
ala Coral Group has announced that it is merging its two online divisions, Gala Interactive (GI) and Coral Interactive (CI), under a single management team. The combined business will also work more closely with the Coral retail division in order to take advantage of continued multi-channel growth. As part of these changes managing director of Coral Interactive John O’Reilly has decided to step down from his role, but has agreed to stay on as a consultant for a minimum period of 12 months. Andy Hornby, COO of Gala Coral Group, will take on the leadership of the combined interactive division alongside his responsibility for Coral Retail. Carl Leaver, Group CEO of Gala Coral commented: “We have seen huge progress in our online businesses over the last few years. Now is the right time to bring together our collective knowledge and experience to ensure that our brands continue to develop strongly, while at the same time putting multi-channel at the heart of what we do. “John is an impressive leader who has been instrumental in reviving Coral’s fortunes on-line. He will be missed as a key member of our senior executive team, but I am delighted not to be losing him completely. The combination of talent in the restructured Interactive management team puts us in great shape for the next phase of our growth.” O’Reilly added: “I joined Gala Coral Group in 2011 to put Coral back on the map in the online market. Since then, with the support of a fantastic management team, we have created a valuable and fast growing business. With Coral’s online business now established it is a good time for me to hand over the reins and return to the UK.” The group has just announced its full year results as well, which saw all websites continuing to show strong growth. Coral.co.uk actives grew by 70 per cent driven by innovative marketing and a successful World Cup. Growth in spend-peractive was also supported by the
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Ultimate Poker closes Nevada operations UNITED STATES
n a move that is reflective of the way the US igaming market has progressed since becoming legal, the first company to offer online poker in the country has closed its website. Ultimate Gaming shut down its Nevada operation, Ultimate Poker, citing revenues that had fallen ‘far short of original projections’. Ultimate Gaming chairman Tom Breitling elaborated on the reasons for the failure of the website in a statement: “Moreover, the state-by-state approach to online gaming has created an extremely cost-prohibitive and challenging operating environment. These factors have combined to make the path to profitability very difficult and uncertain. Consequently, we have decided to cease operations.” Ultimate Poker only opened in April 2013 and was joined later in the year by Caesars Entertainment’s WSOP.com and South Point Casino’s Real Gaming. In the 12 months to September, the market was worth US$11.07m with figures heading downwards. In fact September was the worst month since legalisation, with all three brands winning $693,000 between them. Breitling added: “We are grateful to the Nevada Gaming Commission and Gaming Control Board for allowing us to be the first company to operate online
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JOHN O’REILLY: ‘IT IS A GOOD TIME FOR ME TO HAND OVER THE REINS’
ANALYSIS The company claims that the changes mark a new phase of development for the business following what it describes as a ‘highly successful programme’ over the last few years. Since September 2012, Coral Interactive has grown its net revenues by a factor of 5.2x and Gala Interactive (which started from a much higher base) has increased its net revenues by 1.7x. Interestingly Gala Coral’s shake up of online is via channel is different to the Rank Group’s recent re-organisation which saw it makes its divisions via brands (Grosvenor and Mecca). Time will tell which is the right approach to take.
single wallet which enabled effective cross-sell of new sportsbook actives into gaming. In addition, the gaming product pipeline remains very strong; during the year 124 new games were launched of which 20 per cent were exclusive to Coral. Galabingo.com also delivered gross profit and EBITDA growth, with actives 2 per cent ahead, despite an increasingly competitive online bingo market. A focus on the customer journey, adapted to different customer segments, helped deliver an increase in spend-per-active of 23 per cent. Galacasino.com grew
actives by 14 per cent and gross profit by 36 per cent. The firm added that both websites are well positioned to absorb the impact of Point of Consumption Tax and ‘to respond quickly to any subsequent market adjustments’. Leaver commented: “The group’s financial performance in the full year was very pleasing with all major divisions reporting underlying growth in both gross profit and EBITDA. The significant investment in launching our new Online business is paying off strongly, with gross profit up 54 per cent and EBITDA up 104 per cent.”
poker in Nevada and greatly appreciate their leadership and support as the first state license and regulate online poker. We are working with the Gaming Control Board to ensure a smooth transition for our customers as we cease Nevada operations.” Meanwhile in New Jersey, one of two other states to legalise online gaming, Betfair has signed a deal with Atlantic City’s Golden Nugget Casino to provide an online casino in the state. Betfair’s previous partner, Trump Plaza, has closed down leaving the betting exchange looking for another land-based casino to work alongside or face expulsion from the market. Betfair US senior vicepresident of gaming Don Ryan said: “We are very excited to move our operations to Golden Nugget Atlantic City, one of the premier resort destinations in New Jersey. With this relationship, Betfair and Golden Nugget are well positioned to accelerate growth in 2015 and beyond.” Thomas Winter, vicepresident of online gaming for Golden Nugget, said: “We welcome Betfair to the Golden Nugget. The combination of our complementary brands will allow Golden Nugget Atlantic City to cater to an even larger demographic of NJ online players.”
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Winners breed loyalty for Chery
iGaming
Emil Sunvisson, CEO of Cherry AB, said the firm had an ‘unusually high number of lucky big winners during the third quarter’, but this brought some advantages. “While this has impacted upon turnover and earnings, it has contributed positively by increasing brand satisfaction and loyalty among our customer base.”
Bwin.party admits to talks over potential sale
Capitalising on its huge lead in the online poker market, PokerStars is to offer casino and betting on a global basis. POKER
oker giant PokerStars is to launch casino table games and sports betting globally on PokerStars.com. The first offerings – blackjack and roulette – will roll out on a marketby-market basis with completion anticipated by the end of 2014 reaching nearly half PokerStars’ current player base. PokerStars will add sports betting and other popular casino games in 2015. It also plans to launch a full-featured casino on mobile and web in 2015. The launch of sports betting and casino games on PokerStars.com leverages the expertise and experience that has been gained from the launch of casino games earlier this year on PokerStars.es in Spain and on Full Tilt in January 2014. Head of corporate communications Eric Hollreiser said: “We are taking the same principles, practices and integrity that make PokerStars such a successful and beloved brand and applying them to new verticals. These new products will also support the development of poker and grow the overall business.” The rollout of casino on Full Tilt and PokerStars.ES has apparently been greeted well by poker players with approximately 30 per cent of poker customers playing casino monthly, where those games are available. Moreover, half of Full Tilt casino players say that the site is the only online casino at which they play. Hollreiser said: “We thoroughly researched the opportunity and spent a lot of time talking to players and analysing the behaviour of our customers on PokerStars.ES and Full Tilt. Those launches have been successful in reactivating dormant customers and extending the value of our existing poker customers. The experience on our poker platforms to-date also shows increases in net player deposits following the addition of casino games and a negligible impact on poker spend. We are confident these games will create more value to our PokerStars site and bolster the core poker offering.” Hollreiser explained that the firm recognised that some poker players prefer a poker-only environment, and so PokerStars has enabled features that will allow customers to remove the additional games from their view and to opt out of direct marketing and promotions of the casino games. “We are committed to extending our lead-
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CONSOLIDATION
maya Group, Playtech and a mystery third party have all been lined up as potential owners of Bwin.party, after the operator admitted to the stock markets that it has been looking at a variety of different partnerships as it looks to create value for shareholders. Bwin was forced into the disclosure as rumours persisted that the Amaya Group had been making moves to snap up the operator with a £1.2bn takeover offer. In a statement, it revealed: “Further to recent media speculation regarding a possible bid for Bwin.party, the board of Bwin.party confirms that it has entered into preliminary discussions with a number of interested parties regarding a variety of potential business combinations with a view to creating additional value for bwin.party shareholders. Such discussions may or may not result in an offer being made for the company.
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PokerStars to introduce casino and sportsbook
VICTORIA COREN’S DECISION TO STOP BEING A POKERSTARS AMBASSADOR HAS ACTUALLY BROUGHT MORE ATTENTION TO THE OPERATOR’S TABLE GAMES
ANALYSIS The move into casino and sportsbetting for PokerStars has been on the cards ever since the Amaya Group forked out almost £3bn for the poker operator. With so much more focus now on cross-selling different products in the online gaming space, introducing new revenue opportunities was and obvious way for Amya to try and claw back some of that cash. The move hasn’t been without controversy though. TV personality and expert poker player Victoria Coren has stopped being a PokerStars ambassador as she did not want to promote casino games. “Poker is the game I love, poker is what I signed up to promote,” she said.
ership in poker and will continue to serve the passionate online poker player, while expanding our reach into new audiences and new gaming opportunities.” The blackjack and roulette games being launched have been built with poker-playing consumers in mind. The company has devoted resources to develop unique multiplayer games, with social and betting features that will appeal to poker-loving audiences. Combined with some of the lowest blackjack margins in the industry and
micro stakes starting from $0.10, these games have demonstrated early success in appealing to a mass market poker-playing audience. PokerStars’ latest poker client software, PokerStars 7, has also completed beta testing and the full release is now available for download and upgrade. All players on the .COM/.EU shared-liquidity platform have automatically been upgraded to the new software. Players can, however, manually revert back to PokerStars 6 via an option in the ‘Settings’ menu.
AMAYA CEO DAVID BAAZOV WANTS TO ‘INVEST HEAVILY’ IN A SPORTS BETTING PRODUCT
“However, as all such discussions remain at a preliminary stage, there can be no certainty as to whether or not they will result in any form of transaction with any party.” The announcement has seen Bwin’s share price jump 10 per cent. Amaya’s recent acquisition of PokerStars parent The Rational Group indicated just how serious the Toronto-listed firm was in buying a portion of the market, and the strong sportsbook element of Bwin.party would fit the bill. Speaking to investors after reporting Amaya Gaming’s Q3 results, CEO David Baazov confirmed that the operator would continue to ‘invest heavily’ in developing a proprietary sports betting product. Major software supplier Playtech has also been linked with M&A activity after issuing a £248m convertible bond to fund ‘organic opportunities’.
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The Tau of gaming
iGaming
Former Metro Play managing director Jamie Walters is to launch a new online slotsfocused brand called Tau Gaming with former Gamesys head of acquisition James Newman. Tau Gaming will also launch a bingo site using the Dragonfish bingo network in early 2015, and will reveal the brand name closer to it go-live date. JAMIE WALTERS
Mr Green investing in mobile to push ahead of the pack
iGAMINGBRIEFS DELIGHT AT 888’S Q3
As an igaming investment company, Mr Green & Co is on the look out for interesting opportunities, especially if they have mobile benefits.
MIKAEL PAWLO: ‘IMPORTANT INVESTMENTS IF WE ARE TO MAINTAIN OUR LEAD’
MOBILE
wedish operator Mr Green & Co is anticipating that the mobile gaming marketing will grow faster than expectations and is investing in that area now in order to get ahead of the market. Speaking at the firm’s Q3 results, which saw a 35 per cent increase in revenues to SEK168.5m (£14.1 million), CEO Mikael Pawlo said that the operator’s focus on mobile gaming is now beginning to gain real momentum. He explained: “Mr Green’s mobile casino accounted for 24.1 per cent of total game win at the end of the third quarter. Investments in the mobile platform are significant and will continue to be substantial throughout 2014. “These are important investments if we are to maintain our lead. We expect continued robust growth in the mobile segment as our gaming suppliers deliver more mobile gaming titles and as a larger proportion of the gaming catalogue is adapted to mobiles.” Pawlo revealed that the group plans to broaden its portfolio of gaming companies when it identifies operations that stand out and have the potential to generate the same rate of growth as the Mr Green online casino. The firm’s first acquisitions were conducted in the second quarter: DSRPTV Gaming Ventures Ltd, which
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owns Garbo.com, and Social Holdings Ltd, which recently launched the casino game entitled Spin Tower Casino in a beta version on Facebook. Pawlo said: “Garbo.com offers gaming primarily for mobile devices, such as tablets and smartphones. In contrast to the approach adopted by competitors to date, Garbo.com’s brand and position have a clearer focus on women and are thus an excellent complement to the Mr Green online casino in efforts to broaden the potential target audience for the Group’s products. We can also see other synergy effects, such as Garbo’s mobile gaming platform partially inspiring the development of the Mr Green online casino’s mobile platform. Spin Tower Casino offers social casino gaming on the Facebook platform through which players can gain benefits/enhancements but not win money. “The acquisition of Spin Tower Casino also yields synergy effects, for example, Mr Green can now offer realmoney gaming with a Facebook log-in via an iOS application in the UK market. It is our intention to continue seeking synergies between the operations and integrating them with each other to obtain the greatest possible effect.” Improved gaming revenues saw the operator posting an improved Q3 2014
EBITDA of SEK42.4m (£3.7 million) up 35% on Q3 2013. The company had seen increased wagering in both its Nordic and European focused business divisions, although senior management stated that the operator would continue to grow its business capacities outside of core Nordic markets, as it looks to extend European coverage and market share for its Mr Green casino brand. Operational and marketing strategies were proving effective as its igaming products were increasing revenues, whilst keep marketing spend relatively low. The operator’s senior management further stated that it was confident of hitting all of its 2014 corporate targets. Pawlo added: “Mr Green online casino continued during this quarter to significantly outgrow the market, implying that Mr Green is continuing to capture market share. In the third quarter of 2014, we increased game win and other revenue by a full 35.8 per cent. “This may be compared with the European casino market, which is forecast to grow by 13 per cent during 2014. The basis for our rapid growth is that we offer players an attractive, secure and safe gaming experience. That is why they come back to Mr Green.”
ANALYSIS As part of its plan to diversify geographically, which it seems could well include acquisitions, the group has applied for a UK licence and is having tax debates with the authorities in Austria, albeit in the courts. Just over half the firm’s business in now in the Nordics, and the company wants to make more inroads in Europe. Mikael Pawlo said: “We believe that the combination of our strong brand and carefully developed product means that customers can experience entertaining and exciting games, irrespective of country and region, and the local adaptations required are relatively small, which means that we are able to expand while generating healthy profitability and with limited risk.”
Intertain performance in line with strategy BINGO
n what has so far been a busy second half of the year, Canadian listed gaming operator Intertain has posted an adjusted EBITDA figure of CA$6,444,000 (£3.6m) for Q3, over $2m more than the preceding quarter. President and CEO John FitzGerald commented: “Our Q3 performance is in line with our committed strategy of organic and acquisitive growth. Our Mandalay Media business continues to see performance that exceeds expectations across key
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INTERTAIN IS TRYING TO BUY VERA&JOHN FOR £70M
BettingBusinessInteractive • DECEMBER 2014
result of strategic and focused marketing. “We are also making substantial progress with respect to our Vera&John acquisition and anticipate closing by the end of 2014. We continued to see numerous, strategic and accretive acquisition opportunities that we hope to capitalise on in the coming months.” Since July, Intertain has completed a bought deal public offering of equity and equity-linked debt subperformance indicators and scription receipts for InterCasino gross gaming $103.5m (£58.0m), comrevenues are improving as a pleted the acquisition of
Mandalay Media for up to £60.0m, announced the non-binding acquisition of Vera&John owner Dumarca Holdings Limited for up to 89.1m euro (£70.6m) and announced accelerated expiration of warrants, providing gross proceeds of up to $30.3m (£17.0m). The group’s main brands, InterCasino and Mandalay Media, were also granted a continuation of licence from the UK Gambling Commission, thereby guaranteeing uninterrupted service for UKbased customers.
888 chief executive Brian Mattingley said he was delighted that the firm continued its strong performance in Q3, delivering an all time quarterly revenue record of US$114m. He explained: “This was driven by an outstanding performance from Casino, reflecting our leading product and superior technology, as well as impressive growth in sport, our b2b business and bingo. We continue to build customer numbers reflecting the core strengths of the 888 brand, our leading product offer and CRM systems. With our highly skilled and innovative team, we continue to look forward with confidence as we further develop the business.” WHITE HAT TIPS UK LICENCE
White Hat Gaming has been granted a UK gambling licence for its online bingo network. White Hat’s bingo network currently comprises four sites: mainstagebingo.com, bingohour.com, bingonorthernireland.com and nudgenudgebingo.com. The company also offers a proprietary igaming platform, bringing together casino content from more than a dozen third party providers as well as payment processing, customer support, retention, fraud and risk services. Chief marketing officer Marc Weinberg said: “We are proud to have been awarded a license by the UK Gambling Commission. This is testament to our hard work in creating a safe, secure and innovative online gambling environment, and it will give us an opportunity to bring our brands to a much wider audience.” OLG SOFT LAUNCHES ONLINE SITE
Some Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) customers have been invited to preview and provide feedback on PlayOLG, OLG’s upcoming internet gaming site. Eligible members of OLG’s Winner’s Circle Rewards program will participate in a short-term, soft launch of the new site before it becomes available to legal-aged Ontarians. OLG will join British Columbia, Manitoba, Quebec and all of the Atlantic Provinces in offering a provincially regulated internet gaming entertainment option. Currently, approximately 500,000 Ontarians spend an estimated CA$400 - $500m annually on out-of-province, grey market sites which are not regulated in Ontario. As a new line of business, PlayOLG will provide more money to the Government of Ontario for hospitals and other government priorities.
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BB123-p10-14-Betting_09/10 01/12/2014 10:49 Page 1
Betting More growth for Paddy Power
ACTION IMAGES / LEE SMITH LIVEPIC
Coral hoping betting shops could feed online business
TRADING UPDATE
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CORAL SPONSORED THE RECENT UK SNOOKER CHAMPIONSHIPS
Gala Coral is hoping its experience of in Italy, where over half of the website’s business comes via the shops, can be replicated in the UK. RETAIL
ala Coral CEO Carl Leaver has said his firm’s betting shop performance was ‘resilient’ in the face of the ‘worst football results on record’ during the first half of the financial year and the continued decline in horse racing stakes. The two weekends early in the year when all the favourites in the Premier League won their matches cost the shops business £11.8m and robbed the retail division of an EBITDA profit for the 12 months ending 27 September. Instead Coral Retail EBITDA was £143.0m, £5.5m or 4 per cent behind the previous year. OTC gross win in the year was obviously impacted as well, and was £1.2m lower than last year. However the adverse football results were partly offset by a strong World Cup, which contributed £6.9m of gross win, and strong margins in the final quarter which were 2.1pp ahead of last year. Machines gross win of £361.0m 6 per cent ahead of last year with gross win per
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machine per week up £29 or 3 per cent at £957. Coral said that this increase was driven by the full year impact of the new Infinity cabinets, and an increased level of differentiated and exclusive B3 gaming content. Operating costs increased by 4 per cent primarily as a result of new shop openings (£10.0m), increased irrecoverable VAT as a result of the introduction of MGD (£4.1m), and the annualisation of an increase in LBO content costs (£2.1m). The group is also having a great time in Italy, where its retail business accounts for over half of the firm’s online customer acquisition. Leaver explained: “The enlarged retail estate will continue to deliver a significant proportion of new Eurobet.it actives, a crucial advantage over other non-land based operators in what is an increasingly competitive online market. This capability reduces the reliance on above-the-line TV advertising and therefore results in a lower overall cost of acquisition. Our multichannel offering has been in place for eight
rish bookmaker Paddy Power has revealed that the second half of the year has started well for the firm, with strong revenue growth in all its businesses. In an interim trading statement, the bookmaker said: “We are benefitting from good top-line growth and favourable sports results. Sportsbook stakes were up 18 per cent online and 3 per cent in retail on a like-for-like basis, with total group net revenue up 38 per cent.” It added that the board now expects ‘mid to high teens’ percentage growth in earnings per share for the full year. The company’s standout was online where total net revenue grew by 42 per cent, comprising a 49 per cent increase in sportsbook and 20 per cent growth in eGaming/B2B. Online stakes grew by 18 per cent; 21 per cent in Australia and 16 per cent excluding Australia. 58 per cent of Paddy Power’s total online revenue from mobile devices in the period, way ahead of the market. The company continued: “In Australia our track record of strong momentum and increasing market share continued in the period. Online customer acquisition was up 23 per cent, while active customers increased by 37 per cent with a strong performance at the recent racing Spring Carnival. “Our UK and Irish online business, paddypower.com, grew its sportsbook net revenue by 59 per cent, benefitting from the largest year-on-year gross win percentage rebound amongst our divisions. Notwithstanding this level of increased winnings from customers, sportsbook stakes grew by 14 per cent. A strong performance from our mobile and proprietary product drove eGaming/B2B revenue growth of 19 per cent. Total active customers increased 33 per cent with customer acquisition up 23 per cent, boosted by the World Cup. Our Italian online business, paddypower.it, grew its net revenue by 72 per cent in the period.” Paddy power’s retail estate as also saw a 14 per cent growth in net revenue grew by on a like-for-like basis. The firm has opened 73 shops in the year to date, 53 in the UK and 20 in Ireland, bringing its total estate to 562 units. Including new shops, sportsbook stakes increased by 15 per cent and total net revenue by 31 per cent. In Irish Retail, the positive like-for-like stake and revenue trends reported since the start of last year continued with stakes up 4 per cent and net revenue up 11 per cent in the period.
years and provides an indication of the potential penetration upside in the UK.” Eurobet Retail is now the fourth largest operator in Italy after a speedy new shop rollout, which drove a significant increase in market share - 12.4 per cent in 2014 compared to 8.9 per cent the previous year. Leaver added: “The launch of Virtual betting in the year was a huge success, and again our speed to market was crucial in acquiring market share, which stood at 17 per cent of the retail virtual betting market at the end of the year. Eurobet.it has continued its profitable growth, driven by an improved Bet-in-Play offering, a strong pipeline of new games and successful multichannel acquisition. Eurobet.it market share at the end of the financial year was 9.2 per cent.” It’s not all good news for retail though – Coral closed 24 shops as they became lossmaking under the new Machin Games Duty level of 25 per cent, and the firm expects its active programme of shop closures to accelerate from April 2015 onwards as leases expire.
ANALYSIS As part of the SENET Group it’s obvious that Gala Coral is taking social responsibility even more seriously this year and the group has established a new internal Responsible Gambling Committee, chaired by the Group CEO Carl Leaver, to ensure that there is ownership and oversight of all responsible gambling issues from the top of the group. Leaver said: “One of our core operating principles is to ensure that we enable our customers to enjoy gambling as a leisure pursuit while protecting any vulnerable customers and providing them with the information and tools they need to stay in control.”
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10 BettingBusinessInteractive • DECEMBER 2014
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BB123-p10-14-Betting_09/10 01/12/2014 10:53 Page 2
Betfair to meet expectations
Betting
Betfair CEO Breon Corcoran is confident the firm will meet expectations this year. He said: “Betfair received a boost in Q1 from a strong World Cup performance and our focus in the second quarter has been on maintaining this momentum. Encouragingly, the recent growth in customer activity has continued with the active customer base up 30 per cent in Q2.”
Players are being prompted to set their limits when playing on gaming machines in order to head of potential problem gambling behaviours.
Sports Betting Integrity Forum sets its agenda INTEGRITY
T Bookmakers respond to ‘pre-commitment’ findings
MACHINES
ookmakers have again been proactive in introducing changes to the operation of gaming machines in an effort to minimise any harm. Responding to research that suggests ‘pre-commitment’ is an important tool for people wishing to control or limit their gambling, gaming machines in betting shops will now have enhanced player controls. Gaming machine customers will be prompted to make a choice as to whether they wish to set a time and/or money limit prior to game play. This will be achieved via a mandatory message requiring the player to either select limits or not and, for those who choose not to, automated machine alerts will be generated following 30 minutes of game play or, following the loss of £250. These new measures have been introduced following recent research which revealed that the setting of self-imposed limits is the most effective way to help players remain in control. The data shows that while only a small percentage of players presently utilise the set limits functionality, a high percentage of these will stop gambling at or before the limit they have chosen. Independent research carried
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out earlier this year by Professor Alex Blaszczynski of the University of Sydney commented positively on voluntary setting of limits as a means of controlling gambling. The report, Operator Based Approaches to Harm Minimisation in Gambling, coauthored by Adrian Parke, Jonathan Parke and Jane Rigbye, found that ‘pre-commitment is a useful tool for a proportion of gamblers to assist in limiting time and money spent gambling’. It continued: “Educating gamblers on the nature and aims of pre-commitment should be promoted widely to the general population of gamblers to increase its use and compliance.” The industry has therefore, on a voluntary basis, concluded that in line with its commitment to the highest standards of responsible gambling, to increase the prominence of the set limits functionality. These latest improvements to gaming controls are born from the player behaviour data now available post the implementation of the ABB’s Code for Responsible Gambling and, the independent research findings of the Responsible Gambling Trust. These changes will also be supported by a focussed in-shop campaign to encourage more customers to set limits and, to
see setting limits as an integral part of a normal approach to gaming machine play. The centrepiece of this campaign will be a Responsible Gambling Week in January 2015 which will coincide with the new measures being introduced at the end of the month. William Hill’s James Henderson, Ladbrokes’ Richard Glynn, Gala Coral’s Carl Leaver, and Andy McCue, CEO Designate Paddy Power said in a joint statement: “Evidence available from the current machine controls shows that voluntary limits help machine customers to stay in control of their gambling – so it’s up to us to encourage more people to make use of them. That is precisely what these new measures should do.” ABB chairman Paul Darling added: “We have listened closely to public and political concerns about gaming machines, and this action is building on our evolving commitment to responsible gambling measures. These are not minor changes, but significant and substantive improvements to player protection based on evidence. Our research says loud and clear that voluntary limits are the best way to ensure players stay in control, which is why we are acting decisively to promote them with our customers.”
ANALYSIS According to the latest industry figures, 75 per cent of players setting a monetary alert either stop playing or continue playing but do not put in any more money. It’s even higher for players setting a voluntary time limit where over 85 per cent of players either stop playing or stop putting in any more cash when they reach that limit. Of course it’s impossible to judge whether these behaviours would have occurred without the limits, which would happen if players are in control, but it is a good reality break nonetheless for people in danger of developing a problem. It also shows that bookmakers are thinking about the issue seriously, by analysing research and responding to the conclusions rather than introducing arbitrary limits.
Blanket retail exclusion scheme gets a trial run SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
one-stop exclusion scheme for betting shops is to be trialled in Medway in south east England. This month will see Medway Council and the Association of British Bookmakers launch the project which will enable customers to ban themselves from every betting shop operator in Chatham High Street for the first time. Hilary Douglas, campaigns director at the Association of British Bookmakers, said: “We are pleased to have agreed this ground-breaking pilot scheme, and we look forward to starting the cross-operator self-exclusion trial in December. We
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he inaugural meeting of the Sports Betting Integrity Forum was held last month at The Queen Elizabeth II Centre in London, with FA director of football governance and regulation Darren Bailey acting as co-chair. Among the topics on the agenda was how British sport can further enhance and develop the existing comprehensive measures for preventing match-fixing and corruption. The UK government-backed Forum brings together representatives from sports governing bodies, betting operators, sport and betting trade associations, law enforcement and gambling regulation. The Forum used the launch to set out its role in addressing the risk from match-fixing to the integrity of sport and sports betting and protecting Britain’s reputation for being a safe place to enjoy both. Bailey commented: “British sport and its partner organisations take the matter of integrity with the utmost seriousness. The establishment of the Forum further demonstrates our longterm commitment to do all we can to protect the integrity of British sport, through working together, sharing best practice and learning from each other and other agencies. “We recognise the potential threat to the integrity of sport in this country and are never complacent on this issue. The Forum will help build on the current achievements at an organisational and national level, including amongst other things, developing further on the intelligence; strengthening the preventative measures within sports and betting organisations to raise awareness of the threats; and coordinating policy at a national and international level.”
welcome this opportunity to work with Medway Council on such an important issue, which will help customers in Chatham to bet safely and responsibly, which is what we all want.” Under the scheme, when a customer indicates they wish to self-exclude from a gambling shop, staff will be help them fill in a self-exclusion form and the information will then be shared with the other local betting shops. The individual will be asked to provide two photographs and personal details will be retained by staff who will watch out for them and be alerted to
12 BettingBusinessInteractive • DECEMBER 2014
their request to be prevented from gambling in any shop in the pilot area. The Voluntary Partnership Agreement will be monitored by the Medway Responsible Gambling Partnership which includes representatives from Medway Council, gambling operators, the ABB, police, the Community Safety Partnership and Safer Medway Partnership. Perry Holmes, Medway Council’s assistant director of legal and corporate services, said: “Medway Council is delighted to have signed the Voluntary Partnership Agreement, which is the first of its kind, and
to be at the cutting edge of promoting responsible gambling in our community. We have reached this point with the support and collaboration of the Association of British Bookmakers, members of the Medway betting industry, Kent Police and the Safer Medway Partnership. “We are particularly pleased that all the partners have agreed to establish a localised selfexclusion scheme in Chatham on a pilot basis and look forward to seeing how the measures contained within both the pilot and the wider agreement work to reduce gambling harm in Medway.”
THE SPORTS BETTING INTEGRITY FORUM:
Ladbrokes William Hill Coral Betfair Bet 365 Association British Bookmakers The Remote Gambling Association Professional Players Federation Association of Chief Police Officers Police Scotland National Crime Agency Gambling Commission British Horseracing Authority England and Wales Cricket Board The Football Association Greyhound Board of Great Britain Rugby Football League Rugby Football Union Tennis Integrity Unit World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association THE FA’S DARREN BAILEY CO-CHAIRED THE SPORTS BETTING INTEGRITY FORUM
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BB123-p10-14-Betting_09/10 01/12/2014 11:02 Page 3
40 up for IG
Betting
IG Group chief executive Tim Howkins has pledged to continue the company’s remarkable growth on its 40th anniversary. He said: “While to some 40 might sound old, we are still a young company, and will continue to strive to provide products and markets that traders demand. Our move into stockbroking and the launch of flexible bitcoin trading are just two examples of how we continue to move forward.”
Binary sector needs industry standards One of the oldest operators of binary betting is concerned that too many of the new entrants into the market are not providing a good enough service. BINARY
he binary betting industry needs a common set of standards if it is to flourish, according to Binary.com founder and CEO Jean-Yves Sireau, who believes that there are several operators whose activities harm the sector. Sireau said that some operators are fixated on marketing and nothing else, to the detriment to the product. He explained: “There are a few binary options companies on the market that I wouldn’t respect; they give the appearance of being a fly-by-night operation and actually do quite a bit of harm to the industry. “I think some co-operation between operators to impose some standards would be a very good idea. It’s definitely something that should be done because there are just too many binary options white label sites sprouting up. They are very marketing focused and I think that they harm the industry with poor pricing in particular. Because all their efforts and energies are channelled into marketing, they don’t actually pay that much attention
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JEAN-YVES SIREAU: ‘THERE ARE JUST TOO MANY BINARY OPTIONS WHITE LABEL SITES’
to their products and from what I can tell they seem to think if they invest enough in marketing then they can make do with a lousy product and it’s not an approach I agree with at all.” Binary.com, formerly BetonMarkets, has recently added three new forex pairs to its offering as demand for forex trading in emerging markets builds momen-
tum, and Sireau believes that refreshing the product range in this way is good for business. “We are constantly doing R&D and constantly improving our pricing and expanding our product range because our view is that over the long term the firms that win are those that offer the best value to their customers.” Binary.com has applied of a UK gambling licence given the market’s importance to the firm, although it has clients from a wide range of countries. Sireau commented: “Clients that live in countries where there isn’t a vibrant financial sector are still interested to trade the markets and will trade the international indices and FX rates. I think in every country in the world there is an interest in trading on markets and people tend to like the international indices which they see on the news.” While spread betting firms like IG are currently struggling with low volume, low volatility in the market, Sireau claims that Binary.com is ‘completely agnostic to a quiet market’. “Our trade volumes are very stable on a day
to day basis because we have a very wide range of types of options available. With us you can place a range bet where players will win if a market stays within a trading range over a period of time. It provides an interesting toolkit to trade in ways that are not immediately possible with other forms of investment. “It doesn’t drop off too much at weekends either. We have a product called the random indices which are simulated indices and are quite popular. We run them on a weekend when all the other markets are closed and our clients like to continue trading on those.” In the meantime, the new brand is helping marketing efforts given that it’s a much more straightforward brand and URL. “We got quite lucky with it,” Sireau admitted. “The owner had bought it at the start of the internet and held onto it for about 15 years. We approached him and the timing was just right for a sale. It helps us as we are gradually moving away from the word bet and moving towards calling our product binary options.”
William Hill suspends Manila operation for investigation PHILIPPINES
illiam Hill has found itself at the centre of an investigation into illegal gambling activities in the Philippines. The bookmaker made a stock market announcement last month revealing that its Manila service centre operation has been served with notice that it is the subject of an investigation by the Philippines National Bureau of Investigation into allegations relating to the carrying out of illegal gambling activities in the Philippines. William Hill’s Manila operation provides customer support and back office functions, primarily for the group’s online business. The bookmaker explained: “The operations of the facility were suspended when notice was served. William Hill has implemented business continuity measures to provide cover for key operational services provided by our Manila operation and is
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working over the short term to ensure that all services are covered to our normal standard.” It added: “With regards to these allegations, we believe that there are no activities occurring in our Philippines operation which are contrary to law.” In the Philippines, William Hill is a member of the governmentrun PEZA scheme (Philippine Economic Zone Authority), which incentivises businesses, on a fully transparent basis, to establish and run operations in the Philippines. William Hill said it complies with local laws and applies consistent global policies for its operations to abide by. William Hill has not been alone in receiving one of these notices recently, as at least one other gambling operation with offices in Manila has also unexpectedly been served notice, although again the operator in question is confident that no laws have been
14 BettingBusinessInteractive • DECEMBER 2014
WILLIAM HILL’S MANILA OPERATION SUPPORTED ITS ONLINE BUSINESS
broken in its offices. Should any investigation not turn up anything grounds for the allegations, it might make gambling operators think twice about
being located in the Philippines if a metaphorically trigger happy police force is in danger of damaging the reputation of global brands.
BETTINGBRIEFS TITANBET GOES NATIONAL
Titanbet.co.uk has agreed to sponsor its first National Hunt meeting at Kempton Park, as it continues its expansion in the British market. Russell Yershon, spokesman for Titanbet.co.uk, said: “We’ve already seen some excellent results from our sponsorship deal with Kempton Park and I’m very excited about sponsoring a jumps meeting as we head into the National Hunt Calendar. Race-goers will be able to enjoy special sign-up offers and money back promotions on the races, as part of a number of initiatives to attract new customers in the fiercely competitive market.” Tony Langenegger, regional sponsorship manager at The Jockey Club, said: “It’s a great reflection on Kempton Park that Titanbet.co.uk are keen to expand their sponsorship package with us and I’m looking forward to developing our relationship over the course of the season.” POLISH CRACKDOWN
Polish operator STS has told the government not to criminalise players in an online gambling crackdown. Michał Szadokierski, spokesperson for the Szczecin Tax Chambers, said in an interview with Polish Radio: “Players have to accept the fact that if they are playing on Polish territory then this is an illegal activity. The accused will not only have to give back their winnings and pay the legal costs, but they will also be potentially subject to a high fine and imprisonment.” But STS’ Paweł Rabantek defended players ‘who often do not know that they are breaking the law’, and said authorities should instead target unlicensed operators within Poland. 666 SUPPORTS FA CUP UNDERDOGS
666BET.com signed sponsorship deals with six of the nonleague clubs playing in the FA Cup first round. The ‘666BET Super Six’ are: Conference South trio Basingstoke Town, Gosport Borough and Westonsuper-Mare, Conference North’s AFC Fylde, as well as East Thurrock United of the Ryman Isthmian Premier and Norton United of the Evo-Stik Northern Premier League Division One South. Unfortunately all six were defeated in their ties. Barry Martin, CEO of 666BET.com, said: “From Premier League to non-league, 666BET is proud to be involved in football across all levels of the beautiful game.” 666BET’s deal with Basingstoke Town and Westonsuper-Mare also applies to league games until the end of the season. Premier League sides Leicester City and West Bromwich Albion, as well as sponsoring League One Leyton Orient’s shirt.
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MP recognises dip in LBO numbers
Politics
Brandon Lewis, minister at the Department of Communities and Local Government, has told Parliament that the number of betting shops are actually dropping. Responding to a question by Diane Abbott, the Conservative MP for Great Yarmouth said the number of betting shops as of March 2014 was 9,021 - over 100 fewer than two years previous. He added that the government was reviewing responses to its consultation over whether LBOs need a separate planning category.
Ladbrokes’ Rust away to head up British horseracing
POLITICSBRIEFS MINISTER DISCUSSES ENFORCEMENT
Minister for gambling Helen Grant has revealed she has discussed several methods of enforcement with the Gambling Commission for the regulation of online gambling. In a written parliamentary answer, she said: “These enforcement arrangements include the disruption of illegal financial transactions. Companies such as MasterCard, Visa and PayPal are working with the Gambling Commission to ensure the termination of financial processing contracts with unlicensed gambling operators. “The government and the Gambling Commission will assess the effectiveness of this approach, to enable government to ensure that the Gambling Commission continues to have all of the enforcement tools that it needs.”
The BHA has performed a bit of a coup by attracting Nick Rust from Ladbrokes to head up the sport of horseracing. RACING
n an eye-turning appointment, Ladbrokes’ retail chief Nick Rust is leaving the bookmaker to become chief executive of the British Horseracing Authority (BHA). He is expected to join BHA when he becomes available from Ladbrokes, in early 2015. Rust has 27 years of experience in the betting and gaming industry, and in his current role has oversight of around 2,500 betting shops and 13,000 staff. Before rejoining Ladbrokes he also held senior roles at SkyBet and Gala Coral. Rust, who also owns racehorses, commented: “Given my lifelong passion for British Racing, I am thrilled and honoured to be taking up the role of chief executive at BHA. Racing is a huge sport, and critical to many areas of the economy. It has many exciting opportunities ahead and I know that the Racing industry can grasp these. I look forward to working with the new Board, and the wider team, as well as our many stakeholders, to build on what has already been achieved across Racing and by Paul Bittar and his team.” Ladbrokes CEO Richard
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Glynn commented: “Nick has played a significant role in Ladbrokes since he rejoined us in 2011 to help transform our retail offer. He has created a strong team who have been running the day-to-day business for some time and who have a clear view on what needs to be done to keep the retail offer highly competitive. “We wish Nick well in what is an important role for horse racing at an important time. With his lifelong passion for racing, his knowledge of the industry and the threats posed to it from the growing popularity of other sports he has a lot to deal with and a lot to offer.” Given the key role that Rust has been playing at Ladbrokes, indeed the bookmaker’s retail estate has helped keep investors onside in recent years, it was perhaps a surprise that the firm has ‘no immediate plans to replace Nick Rust’s position in a like for like role’ such is its confidence in the ‘strong and experienced teams in place across the business’. Rust will remain at Ladbrokes until April 2015, although the bookmaker has made clear he will play no further part in any discus-
sions affecting horse racing or horse racing industry relations. Meanwhile the BHA is rather pleased to pull off this coup. Chairman Steve Harman said: “We are delighted to have appointed Nick. The quality of candidates was amongst the highest I have ever seen for any CEO position, with a range of senior leaders from the UK business, consumer and leisure industries. Nick impressed us all the way through the process. “He has been an avid Racing fan since childhood, has an impressive track record in his business life, and a great understanding of the opportunities for the sport. Those that know Nick know that he has a natural and collaborative leadership style with staff and stakeholders alike, a good blend of humility and desire to get things done. He is comfortable from ‘stable to boardroom’ and understands how pivotal this sport is to jobs and UK PLC.” He added: “He understands the priorities and opportunities well and I know that he will build on the platform developed by Paul Bittar and the BHA team, and be a highly effective and popular leader.”
NICK RUST – LEAVING LADBROKES TO HEAD UP THE BHA
ANALYSIS It was in May this year during a particularly engaging debate at the Betting on Football conference that Camberton’s Mark Davies asked why sports did not recruit people from the betting industry in order to gain expertise of the sector. Well it seems that the BHA was listening given Nick Rust’s extensive bookmaking knowledge. Hopefully Rust’s appointment will engender a new level of understanding between the sport and the industry, but there is always the danger that it will provide the sport a full diagnosis of the betting sector’s weak points.
Customer fund protection rating to be introduced FUNDS
he UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has announced that it will require UK licensed online gaming and betting operators to display a customer fund protection rating on their terms and conditions page. The three tiered rating system will provide UK online gaming consumers with further information regarding operator player fund protection, payment processing and operator fund terms. The UKGC will require all licensed operators to publish the rating system by the 31 December. The rating sets out basic, medium and high levels of fund segregation and protection. From 2 February 2015, all operators will have to display their fund
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16 BettingBusinessInteractive • DECEMBER 2014
rating to all depositing customers. UK betting consumers will have to acknowledge the operators rating in order to proceed with their
transaction. UKGC Customer funds ratings categories are as follows: Basic - Segregation of customer
funds - Customer funds are kept in accounts separate from business accounts but they would form part of the assets of the business in the event of insolvency. These accounts may include bank accounts, investment accounts and other accounts. Medium - Quistclose or equivalent – Customer funds are kept in accounts separate from business accounts; and arrangements have been made to ensure assets in the customer accounts are distributed to customers in the event of insolvency. The arrangements falling in the medium category include Quistclose accounts and insurance arrangements. High - Independent trust account Customer funds are held in a trust account which is verified and subject to controls by an independent trustee.
GBGB GOES BACK TO LONDON
The Greyhound Board of Great Britain (GBGB) is holding its Greyhound of the Year Awards back in London next year at the Lancaster Hotel after this year’s event in Manchester. The national ceremony celebrates the achievements of the greyhounds and their trainers, owners and kennel staff throughout 2014. Barry Faulkner, GBGB chief executive said: “Last year’s awards ceremony was one of the highlights of the greyhound year. Again we are hoping to get sponsorship of the various awards for this year’s event which offers a great opportunity for companies to showcase their brand before the sport and join us on an evening of high excitement and anticipation.” WELFARE EXPERTS APPOINTED BY LEVY BOARD
The Horserace Betting Levy Board has approved the appointment of three new members of the Veterinary Advisory Committee. Following the retirement of the chairman Professor Willie Donachie, and the elevation of Professor Celia Marr to the chair with effect from 1 January 2015, two new members will join in the New Year. These are Caroline George, managing partner of Lambourn Equine Vets, and Professor Tom Stout, professor of equine medicine and reproduction at the University of Utrecht. Starting in 2016 will be Rob van Pelt, a director of Arundel Equine Hospital, West Sussex.
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BettingBusinessInteractive • DECEMBER 2014
Betting Business Interactive Edition
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Essential guide to . Huge growth William Hill reported that for Q3 2014 turnover for online was up 18 per cent, despite a large margin. Of this pre-match increased 6 per cent while in-play jumped 35 per cent.
TAB Austria recognised for its export exploits and received a special Export award.
24 Sportradar snaps up another sport’s data after an agreement with The British Basketball League
26 NetEnt’s Laszlo Keczer explains the changes that the firm has brought to its popular live dealer solution
28 IMS has a new tool which will help Playtech’s customers market their products more effectively
Stability in-play
Away from horseracing, which does not lend itself to in-race bets, live betting provides between 60 and 80 per cent of turnover for the major bookmakers.
Margins for live betting however were much lower. For the first 9 months William Hill reported stable margins at 5.8 per cent, compared to 5.1 per cent in 2013, while pre-match margins leaped to 12.6 per cent from 7.2 per cent.
TITANBET
VIEWPOINT
Automation keeps Popularity our costs down and just keeps enhances the product on rising Bookmaker Titanbet recognises the importance of live betting and the significant turnover it generates. Russ Yershon of Titanbet is one of many bookmakers who believes that in-play betting is vitally important to the business, and will be for the foreseeable future. While it is a key product for desktop, Yershon says it will be particularly important when it comes to mobile growth and he has plans for significant investment in the product. However he isn’t of the belief that keeping in-running costs down necessarily leads to compromising the offer. “In truth, I’m not convinced one leads to the other,” he explained. “As well as keeping costs down, automation has a number of other benefits including increasing the number of games a trader can cover, thus improving productivity. There is increased accuracy too, as human error is removed, which increases margin. “In addition, we can enhance betting opportunities by offering derivative markets across an event and increase the number of betting opportunities for customers. With those factors in mind, I’d say that automation keeps our costs down and enhances the product, rather than compromising it.” Given that in-play betting has lower margins because a greater proportion of bets taken during a live event are singles, unlike pre-event where multiples are both popular and available, Titanbet is looking at ways to improve margin. Yershon said: “In-play betting in its current form actually discourages multiples, because placing a multiple on a single event often falls foul of related contingency issues. One way of tackling this is to start calculating the amended odds for these related contingencies so customers can place these bets. For example we’ve taken the two most
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popular bets on football, the 1x2 & O/U 2.5 goals, and allowed them as a double. We will also be introducing a cash out option very shortly to allow customers to lock in a profit or limit their losses. Through innovations like these we expect to keep improving our in-play margin towards the levels we see on pre-event.” Another way of boosting turnover at least is knowing which markets to prioritise, which Titanbet does through analysis and reports. This tends to mean the 1X2 markets are still the main focus followed by overs and unders. Likewise in tennis, the match winner market is the most popular. However Yershon said that it pays to be flexible in some cases. “When a football match is extremely one sided, we move to show handicap betting and next goal markets. Both pre and in-play markets have the same top market - the 1X2. In sports such as rugby league, rugby union and NFL, handicap betting is a main priority. But we continually monitor all of these and adjust accordingly.”
Andrew McCarron t times it seems that the only way that growth in live betting is going to stop is if it’s artificial curbed by law makers who have swallowed one to many stories about how sports bodies need funds from bookmakers to stop match fixing. The continued growth in the product is phenomenal, helped by the recycling of stakes and winnings as punters hop in and out if positions in the hope of finding an edge. This will only continue once a working live betting dynamic can work in the betting shop – perhaps when tablets become cheap enough that it’s not such a risk putting them in the hands of customers. One of the criticisms of in-play is of course that the margins are lower, but it appears they are also more steady and not subject to the volatility of the pre-match betting markets. The key here is that you need to be on your game and if you can’t adequately manage the issue yourself, there are plenty of suppliers only too willing to lend a hand.
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o ... Live Betting SPORTING INDEX
Growth in mobile betting absolutely huge Wayne Lincoln of Sporting Index believes that spread betting firms still have the edge over their fixed odds rivals when it comes to live betting. hat’s the most popular sport for live betting in terms of bets per minute? Unsurprisingly, it’s football. Spread betting on football accounts for around a third of all our bets. The action lends itself perfectly to in-running betting and the trading floor has to be prepared as during matches the betting activity can be frenetic, particularly at the start of each half and following significant incidents in the game.
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How do you ensure that you are one step ahead of the punter in terms of live data? Sporting Index has always prided ourselves on the quality of our traders. We believe we have the best in the business and their knowledge, talent, experience and dedication, combined with market-leading highly sophisticated models and databases of information, ensures we remain ahead of punters. What’s the split with mobile and desktop
sales@bit8.com
www.bit8.com
live betting users? The majority of our clients don’t just use one channel for betting. Many will be on their computers when they are at home or at work, but use their smartphones or tablets when they are on the move. Hence our commitment to making Sporting Index accessible and user-friendly, however, and whenever, our clients want to place a bet. On average, in any given month, 60 per cent of our clients will have a bet using desktop, 55 per cent will at least place some of their bets using mobile and 15 per cent still use our telephone betting service. Customers often use multiple channels, which explains why these figures don’t add up to 100 per cent. The growth in mobile betting has been absolutely huge. During Euro 2012, only 31 per cent of clients placed a bet using mobile. Throughout the 2014 World Cup, the number
had jumped to 62 per cent. Are there any sports that don’t really work for live betting? Which markets are surprisingly quiet? Due to the nature of the sport, with races that at most only last a few minutes, and are often far shorter, horse racing doesn’t really work for our in-play betting product. Live racing streams are delayed by several seconds and, while that may not sound like much, in that time a race can dramatically change. However, that is countered by extensive horse racing meeting markets which are updated between races. For example, some of these markets allow bettors to get with or against the performance of certain jockeys at a meeting, how the favourites across a meeting will perform and even the aggregate winning distance of horses.
Spread betting has offered in play for some time - has its explosion into fixed odds operators helped revenues in raising its profile or hindered them because of the extra competition? In-running betting is something Sporting Index has pioneered since our inception in the early 1990s. The ability to bet in-play, as well as take a profit or cap a loss, is a core feature of spread betting and it is where our strengths lie. The betting industry has always been fiercely competitive. Since the fixed-odds firms have expanded their offerings into in-play, it’s only got more competitive, but we strive to innovate our in-play service continuously. And because of our long experience in this area and the fact the concept is so ingrained in spread betting culture, Sporting Index ensures spread betting is still the best way to bet in-play.
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Essential Guide to ... Live Betting INSPIRED GAMING
SPORTRADAR
Self-service adding to live experience
Managing data from pitchside to betslip
Teaming up the BetBOX with the BetBuilder helps retail betting offer something different, courtesy of Inspired. Inspired Gaming’s product team has been a key player in Virtual Sports and Numbers Games, which are proven to add 10-15 per cent to retail and online sportsbook revenues. Its Virtual Sports and Numbers Games are available through bespoke data integrations, via its BetBOX bet management system or via the SIS Virtual Betting Channel. BetBOX is Inspired’s Virtual Sports Bet Management System (BMS). It enables any betting, gaming or lottery operator to add a schedule of 24/7 Virtual Sports and Numbers games to their venue. BetBOX is a turnkey betting system for any retail betting venue, casino or lottery sales point. It enables bets to be placed over the counter on Virtual Sports and Numbers games. The system is scalable over any number of venues and comes complete with trusted risk management and reporting tools. There are four different BetBOX bundles available; from a low cost white-label solution to a fully bespoke BetBOX BMS with operator branded and scheduled virtual content. The virtual sports content available with BetBOX is the widest range in the industry and is developed by a BAFTA award-winning graphics team who use the latest tech-
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niques from the film and TV industry. There are eleven high quality sports and four rapid number games available. It is renowned for being a low cost, fully configurable solution, to suit any operator wanting to add Virtual Sports and numbers games to one or more venues. To enhance its leadership in the Virtual Sports sector, Inspired has further developed its BetBOX Virtual Sports bet management system with a selfservice kiosk – called BetBuilder. Inspired recently presented its latest development to the BetBOX Virtual Sports bet management system - a self-service kiosk called BetBuilder. BetBuilder enables players to browse the upcoming events and odds, make bet selections and then print their final bets to be validated at the counter. It offers players a better experience because they can browse all of the events available and build accumulator bets more easily, as well as taking pressure off busy cashier desks.
BETCONSTRUCT
Opportunities for live betting are seemingly endless BetConstruct CEO Suren Khachatryan explains how his firm has stayed ahead of the trend for live betting. otal global gross win for interactive gambling is estimated by H2 Gambling Capital to reach 30.5bn euro by the end of the year. Betting represents just under 50 per cent of this total, and of course live betting (also known as in-play or in-running), is the darling of the segment. With early recognition of the exponential growth of live betting, BetConstruct has capitalised on being a sports book specialist and quickly developed technology and systems which now covers more than 18,000 live events per month across 50+ sports – more than any other supplier, bar none. From a consumer perspective, it is clear that the live betting trend is global, however not all markets are as amenable to it as the punters are. While the UK and Denmark with their open regimes embrace the movement, the legislation in other jurisdictions such as France, Spain and Italy is a hindrance because of either heavy-handed regulations, unworkable fiscal regimes or both. This has been problematic for those markets, whose figures for legal gambling show less than stellar figures.
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However, it would appear that the tide is changing as last month, about a year after the Italian regulator opened the number of betting markets to great financial success, the AAMS have acquiesced their rigid stance against live betting – and in doing so provides a massive opportunity for gamblers and operators alike. If history is anything to go by, it’s likely that other jurisdictions will ultimately follow suit, embracing this betting sector. The quantity of events serves to indicate the scale and magnitude of live betting now, versus the outset, when it was initially only available for major sporting events including world events and top tournaments that were broadcast live on television. Now, thanks to video feeds and realtime streaming via the internet or mobile the opportunities for live betting are seemingly endless – BetConstruct, for instance, streams almost 30,000 events per year. Football, as you would expect, is the cornerstone of the movement, but other events such as tennis, golf and Formula 1
all lend themselves smoothly to the live regime. Take golf, for example, there are approximately 120m golfers worldwide, many of whom bet socially when they themselves play and back their favourite professionals in televised tournaments. While golf has a relaxed ‘flow’ during the game, the reality is that player momentum can change by the minute – along with punters opinions, and live betting is a natural bedfellow to a golf tournament that is broadcast for hours at a time. When discussing live betting, it is often events such as ‘red cards’ or ‘next corners’ that are exemplified in the media. However, these are the equivalent of proposition bets on the craps table – they are fun, almost novelty, bets. Most in-play betting is undertaken by knowledgeable and interested punters to the point where the betting is an integral part of enjoying the event itself and due to fast-changing, fast-moving nature of live betting, BetConstruct’s clients see a very solid and consistent margin.
Automated feeds and fully managed platforms have transformed the industry and opened up new opportunities for operators. Sportradar’s Tobias Brunner explains. s a result of the dynamic growth of in-play betting and the increasing product complexity in the betting industry, the infrastructure of sportsbook operators and data providers’ feeds must be perfectly synchronised. During recent years, Betradar has heavily invested to develop new live data collection technologies, which has enabled us to offer a comprehensive and reliable Live Odds & Live Scouting service. It also means that we are the only supplier in the market that controls the entire chain of its in-running offer – from the data collection at the venue right through to the compilation and delivery of odds. In total, the coverage amounts to over 15,000 live events in 17 sports around the clock each month. The Live Odds service via XML feeds is an automated odds service for direct end customer use, providing over 350 different odds types. The latest industry trend has been steering towards automation of live betting operations. Sophisticated live odds monitoring tools, such as Betradar’s Live Monitoring, help bookmakers to watch and track the progress of multiple sports and matches simultaneously as their odds change in real time. This technology is just as forward-looking as our stateof-the-art live trading tools. Betradar’s BetPal, for example, enables bookmakers to run their own in-running operations. These products can, however, only been seen as one step on route to an automation level achieved by Managed Trading Services provided by Betradar. Managed Trading Services help to optimise the profit of each bookmaker by externalising labour-intensive tasks and dealing with them efficiently and cost-effectively. The service puts Betradar’s experts in global betting markets to work for their clients and enables them to completely or partly outsource their trading. From providing the fixtures to compiling the odds, monitoring the liabilities to finally confirming the results – all conducted by the companies’ highly experienced and committed trading analysts, who administer the entire process, providing their clients with the largest and most competitive sports betting offer for both pre-match and live betting. Various configuration options enable operators to be as competitive as they wish to be on any granular detail. All bets are validated in realtime for acceptance/rejection based on a series of validation and risk criteria ensuring that operators only accept bets that should be taken. This, in combination with Betradar’s flexible and performance based price models, enables them to minimise their financial risks while increasing turnover and profitability.
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Retail B2B Retail Listings
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www.sis.tv info@sis.tv
gaming B2B machines R et ai l
“ ” Virtual deal German lottery operator LotterieTreuhandgesellschaft mbH Hessen (Lotto Hessen) is deploy Betradar’s Virtual Football solution in its betting offer, becoming the first state lottery to do so. Dr. Sundermann, CEO of Lotto Hessen, said: “In order to raise our service to a whole new level we decided to turn to market leader Betradar.” yx
TERMINALS
www.inspiredgaminggroup.com sales@ingg.com
www.tab.at Better games through innovation
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DR. RUDOLF TRAUNER, ING. SIEGFRIED DATTL JNR AND DR. MICHAEL STRUGL
TAB Austria receives export award TAB Austria has been recognised for its export exploits and received a special Export award from the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber.
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www.mrgsystems.co.uk sales@mrgsystems.co.uk
etting terminal developer TAB Austria has received a coveted Austrian export award for exemplary performance in the global market. The ‘Hidden Champions’ ceremony, part of the ‘Export Days 2014’ on 10 November at the Palais Kaufmännischer Verein in Linz, gave awards to companies which are in the world’s top five or Europe’s top three in their markets. One of the awards was given to TAB Austri, where CEO Ing. Siegfried Dattl jr. was on hand to receive it. “We are delighted with this award, which we consider a visible symbol of our years of commitment,” he
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commented. The award honours companies that can demonstrate outstanding contributions to the Austrian export industry, to companies who are a role model for other, companies showing how to export successfully and to conquer new markets. It is not only the economic strength, but also in particular the sustainability of the enterprise. The awards were organised by the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber. TAB Austria was selected primarily because of its outstanding intercontinental performance and is one of the innovative leaders in the manufacturing of betting terminals, gaming terminals, out-of-home en-
tertainment products, and digital jukeboxes. Dattl added: “We recognised the opportunities of the growing markets early. Since 1962 we have invested in the global market long before it become increasingly important to do so.” Founded in 1962 in Haid near Linz, the 100 percent owned family company combines the know-how of an organisation with innovative and flexible business units. Currently, terminals and products are operated by TAB Austria in more than 50 countries around the world. Only recently TAB started to install its Go4Gold gaming terminals in the PlanetWin365 betting shops run by SKS365.
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David Ross Fabrications Ltd Metalwork supplied from our designs or your own. 7YV[V[`WL [OYV\NO [V WYVK\J[PVU (SS Ä UPZOLZ For example:
DISPLAY
JASON HARDMAN
A Bet A keeps screen up to date
echnology supplier A Bet A has unveiled a new betting shop display product that removes the discrepancy between the odds shown on the tills and the customer’s screen. The company’s Smart Screens prevent the sort of latency issues that have plagued the retail industry for years, becoming a major cause of customer dissatisfaction. Other system benefits include cutting out the need for in-venue graphics control hardware and the need for expensive installation processes by an on-site technician. Deployed as gantry screens, multiscreens, customer service displays, and self-service terminals, the system also supports any mechanism of data delivery. Controlled by the in-shop EPOS terminal, the Smart Screens prevent any risk of data relay and can be delivered where ap-
propriate over a wide-area network to licensed end-users. A Bet A operations manager Jason Hardman believes the technology will improve both the customer experience and save operators money. “TV hardware has moved on in the last few years and the promotion of betting and gaming information and data needs to move with it. It’s more important than ever that operators combine modern web and display technologies with their bet management systems to deliver mediarich content that really engages their clientele. We’re very confident the Smart Screens will do just that, and be a strong, complementary product welcomed by bookmakers of all shapes and sizes. “As the screens will be driven directly from the EPOS system there will be no latency between the shop floor and till, which will be a real boon for customers too.”
DATA
“Ideally, the email should be a group address so that it goes to several people at a bookmaker’s head office, but we appreciate that in some cases, it might only be one personal address.”
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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
Change notification
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IS is offering customers an alert sys-
tem for jockey changes and non-runners at race meetings. The service is free of charge to all those customers who take a data feed, including all FACTS customers. Helen Scott, head of customer services at SIS Betting, said: “The email alerts are sent out automatically once the information is in the SIS data system. We believe this will be of benefit to any of our customers betting on horse racing.
ACTION IMAGES / JULIAN HERBERT LIVEPIC
PLATFORM William Hill renews platform deal illiam Hill has signed a new three year deal with Openbet. The two firms have worked together across multiple channels and in multiple jurisdictions since 2008. William Hill CEO James Henderson said: “Having built market-leading online and retail offerings, we are focused on developing the technologies that underpin our business to bring a differentiated and personalised experience to our customers. When assessing our partners, like OpenBet, we are looking for those with a flexible, collaborative approach that can help us realise this ambition.” OpenBet CEO Jeremy Thompson-Hill added that he was delighted to have the opportunity to be integral to the William Hill’s future success.
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kevin@eagoco.com.tw
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Sportsbook
“” We have always taken great pride in building our platform and products to the highest standards possible, and are delighted to receive this external validation to prove our commitment to the gambling industry.
Suren Khachatryan BetConstruct
Latvian approval
BetConstruct’s online sportsbook platform has received certification from gaming test laboratory BMM, proving that the technology, product and platform conform to all the relevant Republic of Latvia Technical Requirements. BetConstruct said that it aims to increase market share through consistent and first-rate product development.
DATA
Sportradar becomes preferred basketball betting data partner
Sportradar has snapped up another sport’s data after an agreement with The British Basketball League. he British Basketball League (BBL) has announced the appointment of Sportradar as its preferred betting data partner for the 2014/15 Season. The development will see BBL fans benefit directly from the partnership with Sportradar committing to increase the number of games covered this season by BBL TV from its previous 30 to 45. The BBL is the premier men’s professional basketball league in the United Kingdom representing 13 teams from England and Scotland. The teams compete for the national title during the regular season and post-season Play-offs, as well as for the BBL Cup and the BBL Trophy. Commenting on the partnership, the BBL’s commercial director David Leyden Dunbar said: “This is such a positive news
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story at the beginning of the 2014/15 Season, where we’ve been able to deliver a partnership which all BBL fans can benefit from instantly. This season we’ve strived to improve BBL TV’s output but the addition of 15 extra live games has only been made possible through Sportradar’s investment and support.” Sportradar’s managing director data & licensing Johannes Ranke added: “The British Basketball League is such an exciting league, with teams from Glasgow down to Plymouth and one that a lot of the up and coming talent of the UK look up to. The opportunity to help in the development and growth of UK basketball is an exciting one, and we are proud that our partnership will see the league’s channel broadcast 50 per cent more matches than it did last season.”
Meanwhile, sister company Betradar’s Live Scouting Service and Remote Game Server will be deployed by Metric Gaming to enhance its specialised high-speed betting markets for various sports. Betradar’s Live Scouting Service, on which more than 150 bookmaking clients rely, is an established information source which makes it possible to operate an inrunning trading operation. Thanks to the technology that Betradar has developed inhouse, the company can provide extremely fast, accurate and secure data transmission, helping Metric Gaming to extend its unique in-game sports wagering markets via its SuperLive platform technology. Erik Lorenz, managing director sales at Sportradar, welcomed the co-operation with Metric Gaming: “We are very pleased
to welcome Metric Gaming as a new Betradar’s Live Scouting Service partner. We are convinced that together we can shape future developments and play an active part in the creation of an even more exciting live betting offering for the worldwide market.” Metric’s president & CEO Peter Bertilsson added: “Betradar’s impressive suite of live sports data services, particularly for U.S. sports, perfectly complements Metric’s SuperLive platform, which requires reliable and comprehensive up-to-the-second data to provide its unique in-game sports wagering markets. Sportradar’s innovative Remote Game Server also offers a compelling distribution channel for Metric’s products, making this a partnership in the truest sense of the word.”
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VIRTUAL
MOBILE
B2B Sportsbook Listings
STEVE ROGERS
Vermantia in the Hub ermantia has signed a partnership agreement with Hub Game, a major Italian online and mobile operator, for the provision of its virtual games service. Hub Game operates in the Italian market as system integrator of products and services for online projects. Hub Game focuses on gaming operators who intend to gain market share through diversification; not as traditional concessionaires, but as recognisable brands through the introduction of innovative game concepts. This partnership will enrich the content of Hub Game and will pave the way for Vermantia to integrate its full portfolio (Casino and Instant Games) in the future, such as cycling and motor racing.
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Coral takes virtual products to mobile nspired Gaming Grouphas announced that Gala Coralhas extended its Virtual Sports licence to also include mobile. The firm already provides Coral with seven concurrent channels of Virtual Sports for both retail and online, equating to over 3,000 events a day and these will all now be available on Coral Mobile. The channels are: horse racing, greyhounds, football, tennis, motorsports, speedway and cycling. Steve Rogers, SVP for virtual sports and mobile at Inspired, commented: “We are
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thrilled to be fulfilling the omni-channel model with Coral. Our Virtual Sports perfectly lends itself to mobile, enabling players to make simple and quick bets anytime, anywhere. “Inspired has led the industry charge for Virtual Sports on mobile, which is a huge area of growth for operators. We are committed to lead, advise and maximise the mobile opportunity - some of our customers are already reporting that their virtual income on mobile is over-taking their virtual income on desktop.” Coral sportsbook director Keith O’Loughlin added: “Our mobile penetration is ahead of the competition, in part because of our rich mix of content and simple functionality. Our deal with Inspired means that we will have the best sports channels available to our customers, in shop, online and now on their mobiles, allowing them to move seamlessly from one platform to the next - all with our single wallet.” Only last month Inspired announced that it had signed a deal with Gala Coral Group for the supply of multichannel mobile content, via its Remote Gaming Server (RGS), Virgo.
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SeanieMac moves to Income Access
MOBILE
eanieMac International, the publicly-listed online gaming operator based in Kerry, Ireland, has announced the launch of an affiliate programme for the company’s online sportsbook and casino brand in partnership with Income Access. The SeanieMac affiliate programme will migrate to the Income Access platform and will be managed by the company’s inhouse team. The programme offers affiliates a tiered revenue share commission structure under which commissions vary between 30 and 40 per cent, depending on the net revenue referred. Garreth Core, COO at SeanieMac, commented: “We are confident that by partnering with Income Access, we can grow our affiliate business quickly while maintaining a quality service for our affiliates.”
Metric Gaming strikes distribution deal with ONEworks
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CORPORATE New EveryMatrix offices veryMatrix has opened new offices in both Malta and Mexico. Following on from the launch of its Manila office last year, spearheaded by Ian Sherrington, EveryMatrix continues to expand its product offering in South America and Malta. Ebbe Groes, chief executive of EveryMatrix, commented: “We are excited to be able to open these new offices and explore these territories as we can see a visible demand for our products in these regions and are confident that we can deliver what these clients seek. The company has been growing at exponential speed with new offices in Manila and Ukraine being opened in 2013 and we are confident that we are responsive to the industry demands across the globe.
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portsbook platform provider ONEworks has been appointed Metric Gaming’s exclusive distributor to sportsbook operators in Asia and will integrate Metric’s mobile-optimised sports wagering software into its world class ONEbook platform, providing clients access to Metric’s betting products, SuperLive and Bettor Option. “ONEworks is one of the most well recognised and respected sports wagering platform providers in the business,” explained Peter Bertilsson, Metric Gaming’s president & CEO. “We are proud to have them as a distribution partner and look forward to extending the market for our innovative wagering products across their tremendous sportsbook operator network.” PETER BERTILSSON
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Betsson buys into Rush ookmaker Betsson has invested in the Swedish startup-company Rush Sports AB, which has developed the first true app for event-driven real-time betting. Rush Football is the first app to fully integrate a live score service with real-time betting, allowing users to follow matches and place bets based on match events; not just in a single app, but also in the same view. Magnus Silfverberg, president and CEO of Betsson AB, said: “The investment in Rush
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Sports AB is part of Betsson’s investment strategy, in which Betsson continually evaluates opportunities to strengthen the company’s position in the market. We believe in this investment and look forward with enthusiasm on the development of Rush Sports AB and Rush Football.”
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PLATFORM UBC365 turns to BetConstruct BC365, one of the best established and successful online gaming companies in Lagos State, Nigeria, has signed up with BetConstruct. Powered by BetConstruct, UBC365 will provide its customers with consistently high quality betting, gaming and operational services, with a betting offering that includes over 18,000 live matches per month and a wide range of prematch events and markets. UBC365 players will be able to make bets on over 50 sports, including basketball, football, hockey, tennis, baseball, American football, boxing, cycling, and more. BetConstruct will also supply UBC365 with virtual betting platform and a wide range of casino games as well as 24/7 customer support.
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making sense of the gaming industry
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iGaming Yggdrasil flies Zeppelin
Cosmic move
Fun View for MPN
Yggdrasil Gaming has launched high variance game Cazino Zeppelin. CEO Fredrik Elmqvist said: “We’re really proud of Cazino Zeppelin, it is very different from the rest of the games in our portfolio.”
NetEnt has unveiled its first ever five Jackpot video slot, Cosmic Fortune. NetEnt has also added Jack and the Beanstalk to its Touch portfolio. This mobile version of the classic slot tells the tale of a boy on his quest for riches.
Microgaming has launched a new feature for the MPN - Fun View, which has been designed for widescreen devices. It features high resolution 3D-rendered graphics, clearer fonts, chips and cards, and a slew of new features for both casual and experienced players.
Ainsoworth online distribution Ainsworth Game Technology has announced that it has entered a strategic online content partnership with Playtech, which will see a range of Ainsworth casino gaming titles migrated to Playtech’s online gaming network, allowing for select Playtech casinos to publish popular Ainsworth Game titles.
LIVE CASINO
Innovation is key in our ambition Laszlo Keczer, NetEnt product owner for live casino, explains the changes that the firm has brought to its popular live dealer solution. hat makes NetEnt’s Live Casino product stand out from the crowd? Live Casino is a stunning game experience with radiant HD quality streaming, low latency, excellent branding options and innovative gameplay. Our product is going from strength-to-strength and we are increasing our customers all the time. We have a number of features that makes us stand out from the crowd including exceptional integration capabilities, scalability, strong promotion tools and unique in-game features. Our integration capabilities give us an advantage over the market. Once integrated, we provide customers with ‘one click’ access to the live products and also the ability to change to another game directly through a mini-lobby. NetEnt’s exclusive customised branding solution gives customers the freedom to offer a bespoke branded environment. Event triggers have been installed to allow operators the ability to track, promote and reward players achieving a vari-
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ety of configurable events. Tournaments act as a retention tool to aide operators with limited campaign-execution resources as they can be installed as a recurring event. Other features include custom table limits and being able to take bets during the roulette spin - just as you would in a bricksand-mortar casino. Players have multiple ways to view the action and they can save their favorite games and bet limits for quick game access. How important is innovation in the Live Casino space? Innovation is key in our ambition to drive the Live Casino market forward and one of our innovative features that has proved extremely successful is our Live Common Draw Blackjack. It allows an unlimited number of players to simultaneously enjoy the classic game without jeopardising the traditional rules. Operators never have to turn away players due to a lack of seats. The ability to differentiate your product is an aspect that operators strive for and in-
novation is key in the development of a differentiated product that attracts players. Our state-of-the-art broadcasting technology means branding can be altered digitally through green-screen technology on the same table for an unlimited amount of brands. This pioneering feature allows us to offer a more affordable and flexible solution to our operators. Our partnerships don’t just end after integration as we support customers through the entire journey by constantly improving the promotion tools that surround the live product. What innovations have been added to the latest version? New events have been added to the Live Casino trigger catalogue. This promotion tool gives operators the ability to reward players for certain events and wins. One of the latest improvements to the graphical user interface was in the chat function, where operators can communicate directly with any individual VIP player without disturbing others at the table. This
new feature responds to the player demand of experiencing a gaming journey that is as close to the real experience as possible. How do you see the Live Casino space developing in 2015? Next year will bring further growth in Live Casino. The basic concept of Live Casino is not new, but the way operators will utilise the product is changing significantly. This product can be more than an online version of land-based casino. Roulette and Blackjack will remain the main revenue drivers for the coming years. Various developments will be introduced to aid acquisition and operators willing to enhance the experience most will come out on top. Our vision is to drive the online casino market forward and ensure we continue to be the first choice for Live Casino. We know that any operator can benefit from adding our product to their portfolio and will continue to support our partners with our strong capabilities, experience, unique features and promotional tools.
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BettingBusinessInteractive • DECEMBER 2014
SOCIAL GAMING Parx open for business ameAccount Network is to launch its Simulated Gaming concept with Parx Casino this month. Parx is owned by Greenwood Gaming & Entertainment Inc and comprises a major thoroughbred racetrack and casino property in Bensalem, Pennsylvania. Dermot Smurfit, CEO of GameAccount Network, commented: “In 2015 we anticipate scaling Parx’s Simulated Gaming business through significant online marketing activities designed to acquire players online and drive them on-property to Parx Casino in Bensalem, Pennsylvania. We are excited by the opportunity presented by Simulated Gaming, the underlying strength of our regulation-ready Internet Gaming System, the promotional capabilities of our back office and relevant appeal of our widening gaming portfolio.�
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Plumbee extends Quickspin contract ocial casino game developer Plumbee has signed a new contract with video slot producer, Quickspin which will run until December 2017, with Quickspin continuing to provide Plumbee with exclusivity of its ‘free to play’ content across multiple platforms. Raf Keustermans, co-founder and CEO at Plumbee, said: “We have been working closely with the Quickspin team now for more than three years and during this time we’ve established a great working relationship that has ensured a really rewarding collaborative effort. This latest deal cements our relationship further and we’re excited at what we have planned for the next year with Quickspin and the games that are sure to be a huge hit with players.�
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POKER Bitcoin poker launch itcoin solution provider Coingaming.io has launched the Coin Poker Network with InstaDeal Poker’s network solution. The Coin Poker Network allows platform partners to benefit from shared Bitcoin only player liquidity and is a direct result of the increasing trend of recreational poker players using Bitcoin. InstaDeal’s Stefan Olsson said: “Coingaming is a significant player when it comes to Bitcoin gaming platforms and white label services.� Under a new agreement, Coingaming.io is also able to supply Play’n GO’s full range of 70+ premium casino games for desktop and HTML5 mobile games to its growing client base of Bitcoin casino operators.
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PLATFORM
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BetIt’s Thrills and SuperLenny to be powered by Playtech laytech, multi-channel gaming software and services supplier, has signed Thrills.com and SuperLenny.com to its Open Platform, allowing both rapidly expanding brands access to hundreds of the industry’s best performing games from more than 30 suppliers. Thrills and SuperLenny are both owned and operated by BetIt Operations which is licensed in Malta. The company has gone live with an initial 29 games that consist largely of in-house designed Playtech andAsh Gaming titles, and will look to add to its portfolio in the coming months. By joining the Open Platform BetIt has access to more than 500 popular online and mobile games enabling it to offer its players exclusive and best-of-breed content. The platform offers more than 70 mobile games, with plans underway to double this alongside dual HTML5 delivery with desktop support next year. Playtech’s content library includes a comprehensive selection of classic slot games, multi-line video slots and premium branded slots with movie themes such as Gladiator, War of the Worlds, The Marvel Series, Rocky
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and Pink Panther. BetIt will be able to select from a huge range of classic table and card games, progressive jackpots, scratch cards and fixed odds games from Playtech’s in-house content studios as well as from more than 30 of the gaming industry’s largest online and land-based suppliers. Playtech will also provide both BetIt brands with on-going support in order to maintain and drive innovation and performance. This includes real-time content and competitor performance league tables and the removal of underperforming suppliers. Henric Andersson, COO of BetIt Group, said: “Access to the Playtech Open Platform enables us to be among the first to offer new and exciting games to our fast growing community of players at any time, across any channel and on any device.� Steve Schrier, VP of Sales, Playtech, said: “We’re delighted BetIt has selected the Playtech Open Platform to offer their players exclusive, best-of-breed content. Both Thrills.com and SuperLenny.com are growing rapidly, particularly in the Nordic market, and we’re confident this will significantly strengthen their expansion plans.�
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SLOTS Finnplay expands games portfolio with NYX OGS innplay, the Finnish based gaming platform provider, has signed a deal to integrate NYX Gaming Group’s slot and casino content platform, NYX OGS. David Flynn, EVP of business development for NYX Gaming Group, said “I am delighted to make this agreement with Finnplay. They are one of the most established and successful independent platform providers in Europe. This fits extremely well with our NYX Gaming Group offering and I look forward to growing our businesses together.� Martin Prantner, chief executive of Finnplay, said: “In partnering with NYX Gaming Group, one of the leaders in premium games development, we can provide and ensure our clients with market leading games available on all platforms and through all channels.�
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Ellmount teams with Yggdrasil ggdrasil Gaming has signed a partnership with Casino Room, an innovative casino where every spin takes players one step further in a quest to earn points, badges and freespins. Casino Room, which is owned and operated by Ellmount Gam-
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ing Limited, will receive Yggdrasil’s entire casino games portfolio and Infinite API for gamification. Fredrik Elmqvist, CEO of Yggdrasil Gaming, said: “Gamification is absolutely essential in today’s online casino marketplace. FREDRIK ELMQVIST Operators need to take their customers on a journey to keep them engaged and technology shouldn’t hinder creativity when it comes to player promotions. Our Infinite API for gamification is the perfect solution for operators that want to offer their customers something different.�
SkillOnNet secures Net Ent portfolio oftware provider SkillOnNet has signed an agreement to host the full suite of Net Entertainment’s popular online slots. The multi-year deal will now see the Swedish supplier’s games on popular sites such as EUcasino, CasinoRedKings and SlotsMagic. Andy Andrew, of SkillOnNet, said the deal was the first of many on the horizon as the company looks to scale up its B2B operations following the success of their consumer-facing desktop and mobile content. He added: “We’re thrilled to agree a partnership with NetEnt, whose games are now a must have on any casino. They have an impressive track record of appealing to a wide range of customers in a number of territories.�
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B2B
BettingBusinessInteractive • DECEMBER 2014
Back office Ukrainian data
More engagement
Experience and expertise
Sportradar has announced another long-term data partnership with one of the top European soccer leagues, the Ukrainian Premier League. As of this season, Sportradar becomes the “Official Sports Data Partner of the Ukrainian Premier League” until the end of the 2017/18 season.
Vitaliy Danilov, President of the Ukrainian Premier League, believes the deal with Sportradar will provide fans with more insights and live information. “By unlocking the potential of all the data in our matches, we can provide more entertainment and more engagement to all our fans.”
Sportradar CEO Carsten Koerl added: “We hope that with our experience and expertise in data collection and distribution, we can propel Ukrainian soccer even further up the ladder and help to develop the attractiveness of the league to the betting and the media markets worldwide.”
Bowling deal Sportradar has also signed a deal with ‘Grand Prix of Bowls’ owner Nigel Oldfield Sports Promotions to become official data partner, securing all audiovisual, data and sponsorship rights to the competition.
MARKETING IMS has a new tool which will help Playtech’s customers market their products even more effectively.
Campaign Manager aims to optimise marketing ajor industry supplier Playtech has unveiled Campaign Manager, a powerful and innovative new addition to its awardwinning IMS platform. The new features are designed to streamline and optimise licensee marketing efforts and revenues by fully automating key aspects of the player journey. Offering both scheduled and real-time triggers and conditions, the out-of-the-box system integrates with the advanced bonusing, messaging, personalisation and content delivery tools of the IMS, as well as providing integration options, allowing licensees to design user journeys across all their products and channels. Campaign Manager enables features including automated player segmentation, multivariate testing with test and
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control groups and a wide range of outcomes including multi-product and crosschannel bonusing, player messaging and business alerts. Paddy Power is one of the first licensees to trial the system in production, using it to automate and optimise conversion efforts for its casino product. Following triple-digit conversion rate increases in trial campaigns, the international operator is now looking to leverage the system across other stages in the player lifecycle. Gavin Hamilton, head of gaming at Paddy Power, said: “Aside from the obvious benefits of automating some of our manual tasks, Campaign Manager allows us to ensure that we contact our customers at the right time in their lifecycle and with the offer appropriate for that time. The initial results have been very en-
couraging and we are excited about the opportunities this opens up to us in the future.” Extensive pre-launch trials of the system have demonstrated impressive results. Anouck Chazelas, CRM division manager at Titanbet, one of a group of trial licensees, said: “Campaign Manager has allowed us to fully automate many of the conversion, retention and reactivation cycles which we previously performed manually, allowing us to focus our resources on optimising our offers and improving our targeting. It’s also helped us significantly increase productivity within our marketing operations teams and gives us a faster time-to-market for new ideas.” Shay Segev, COO at Playtech, commented: “Campaign Manager’s innovative marketing automation capabilities further
enhances the position of Playtech’s IMS as the industry’s leading value-adding gaming platform.” Shelley Harding-Ban, IMS product manager, Playtech, added: “Campaign Manager’s cross-channel and multi-product capabilities deliver on the promise of the IMS being a one-stop-shop and a source of success for our clients, while enhancing its current functionalities to create additional value for our customers. “The system is showing exceptionally good results and we are again raising the bar, firmly cementing our position as the leading platform, software and services provider within the global gambling industry.” Playtech plans to roll-out Campaign Manager to additional licensees in the coming months.
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BettingBusinessInteractive • DECEMBER 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
NETWORK NYX buys Ongame from Amaya YX Gaming Group has acquired Gibraltar-based B2B poker network Ongame Network Limited from Amaya Gaming Group Inc. The Ongame business is intended to complement NYX Gaming Group’s market leading casino, bingo and lottery solutions in Europe and the US. The purchase price for Ongame is equivalent to eight times Ongame’s 2015 EBITDA, less any required working capital. CEO of NYX Gaming Group, Matt Davey, stated: “Ongame is renowned in the gaming industry for its excellent poker products, platform and service. Not only does this acquisition provide NYX Gaming Group with one of the best poker products in the industry, it also gives us access to products that are regulated in several jurisdictions, and more importantly a talent pool that can help grow all parts of our business.”
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Fax: +44 (0) 1204 392 748 Subscriptions: Sarah Haworth, Email: shaworth@gbmedia.eu Editorial & Production: Tel: +44 (0) 1204 396 397 20 New Road, Brighton, BN1 1UF, UK Fax: +44 (0) 1204 392 748 Tel: +44 (0) 1273 699 900 Advertising & Subscriptions: Publishing Director: GB Media Corporation Ltd John Sullivan Bolton Technology Exchange Email: jsullivan@gbmedia.eu 33 Queensbrook, Bolton BL1 4AY, UK Tel: +44 (0) 1204 396 397 Tel: +44 (0) 1204 396 397 Fax: +44 (0) 1204 392 748
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
B2B Back Office Listings
Continent 8 picks up Isle of Man award
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ontinent 8 Technologies, which over the last 15 years has established itself as a main provider of managed hosting and network solutions to many of the world’s largest online businesses, has been named ‘Company of the Year’ in the 2014 Isle of Man Newspapers Awards for Excellence. The panel of judges remarked that the privately owned Isle of Man-headquartered company demonstrated a clear strategy along with innovative ways of sourcing and delivering their service on and off island. They recognised that the company has a firmly established local and international profile and has evidenced high levels of ambassadorial activity on behalf of the Island. The Award also recognises the company’s ‘unquestionable commitment’ to the Freedom to Flourish Values. The company operates data centres and connectivity network points of presence around the globe including the Isle of Man, London, Paris,
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Milan, Dublin, Malta, Gibraltar, Guernsey, Singapore, Montreal, Toronto, New York and New Jersey. As one of a number of Islandbased data centres, the company is proud of its unrivalled proposition of having a global footprint of world-class data centre facilities and dedicated private network spanning multiple continents. Co-founder and CEO Michael Tobin described the award as an ‘outstanding accolade for the company’ and said the company’s strategy is to continue to expand its facilities and services to meet the requirements of its current and future customer base; with current focus on expansions across the USA and Asia. “Continent 8’s substantial growth and success can be attributed to our team and the ability to develop and nurture long term customer partnerships, by consistently offering the most sophisticated, innovative and reliable services to our valued customers, enabling us to be their single global provider,” added Tobin.
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New CSR identity icrogaming has created a brandnew identity for its corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives - Microgaming PlayItForward. As Microgaming’s CSR programme continues to grow, PlayItForward is expected to establish itself as a force for social good both at home and further afield. Roger Raatgever, CEO of Microgaming, commented: “We’ve been supporting our local community for over a decade, but we’ve often done so in the shadows. Stepping into the spotlight, Microgaming PlayItForward will allow us to combine all of our efforts and resources for the greater good. As public awareness increases, so too will opportunities to provide help where it is needed the most, which is exactly why we consolidated our CSR practices into a single identity.”
ST-1 platform marketed to tribal gaming operators
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DATA Racing Post agrees data deal he long running dispute over data between the sport of horseracing and its main newspaper The Racing Post has finally been settled. For most of the year, the newspaper’s owner Centurycomm has refused to pay a much higher bill for official data, while the sport has maintained that it was a fair market price. However, an announcement by the Racecourse Data Company has revealed that a heads of terms contract has
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ecure Tradinghas announced a significant strategic partnership with OTP LLC to resell Secure Trading’s ST-1 platform to tribal gaming operators. This important partnership aligns the dominant influence of tribal gaming with the best-in-class technological authentication and payment processing platform, optimising player interaction. ST-1 links the physical and digital gambling experiences and protects both the consumer and operator. Rico Garcia, CEO at OTP LLC said: “IGaming allows for our casino operations to reach a global audience. And with that, the stories of our people will too. And, in the end, that is what I want more than anything else: For the indigenous people of this land to be able to communicate our stories to the world and reach more people.”
S been agreed between the firm and Centurycomm Ltd over the licensing and distribution of pre-race data (PRD). It added: “A long-form contract will be entered into before Christmas. As a result, the official UK horse racing data feed, supplied by Weatherbys, is now available to the Racing Post.”
PAYMENTS
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New boss at Callcredit allcredit Information Group, a leading provider of consumer credit data and analytics, has announced that Mike Gordon will succeed John McAndrew as CEO at the end of the year. Gordon was previously executive vice president for sales, services, and marketing at Fair Isaac Corp. Chairman John Spence commented: “Mike brings a strong track-record of managing innovative, growing businesses in the decision analytics and financial services sectors. He is intimately familiar with the UK, knows many of our key clients well, and is the ideal candidate to take forward our ambitious plans for growth.”
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JOHN MCANDREW
making sense of the gaming industry
RECRUITMENT Job site launched new online job resource with specific focus on the sports betting industry has been launched. available to view at jobs.sbcnews.co.uk, the new website allows job seekers to search by keyword, location, job category or job type (full time, part time etc). Potential employers will also find that advertising a job is made easy via a simple posting interface. To mark the launch, Sports Betting Communityis running a promotion which sees all new vacancies posted free of charge until the turn of the year, and a discount is also applied to any firms wishing to highlight their available roles using the featured job facility.
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BB123-p32-33-Comment_09/10 01/12/2014 12:09 Page 1
Comment ASA playing too fast and loose with statistics David Archer, owner of Freebets.com, is not impressed at the Review of Gambling Advertising by the ASA and wants it to be recalled. t is often said that statistics can be made to prove anything; the Review of Gambling Advertising recently published by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) is a classic example of this unhelpful practise. It’s clear to most observers that this review was written with a predefined conclusion in mind. It is for just this reason that I recently wrote to the chief executive of the ASA to register a strong complaint about the unbalanced nature of the content and misleading conclusions drawn from the report. I have serious misgivings about this report; the absolute lack of context throughout, the small and heavily skewed make-up of the sample size used, the many incorrect and contradictory statements made, as well as the misleading conclusions drawn. The report’s unstated yet underlying premise is that the number of complaints about gambling ads is on the rise. However with an increase in the number of gambling ads, is that number rising as a percentage? That crucial aspect is never addressed, sadly. There is, however, a brief passing mention to a small increase in the number of gambling ads appearing since the deregulation introduced by the Gambling Act
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in 2007. A small increase? A recent Ofcom investigation into gambling advertising stated that there were just over half a million ads on TV in 2008, compared to almost 1.4m in 2012. In fact, the number of gambling ads on TV has increased by an average of 25 per cent in the past two years. If we use the 2012 figures and apply the assumed 25 per cent rise, we would expect to see almost 2.2m gambling adverts on TV alone in 2014, with many more online, in print, outdoor and on mobiles. The ASA report, however, states that just 17 cases, comprising a total of 21 complaints, needed formal investigation. Just 14 of those were found to have a breached the rules. Such a minuscule percentage of gambling advertisements breaching the ASA’s own rules should be celebrated, and bring a ringing endorsement of the gambling industry from the ASA, yet it isn’t even mentioned in their report, which is severely disappointing. The ASA report draws many of its key findings on qualitative research as a way of ‘societal benchmarking’, going on to say that ‘regular gamblers were critical of free bet ads, believing them likely to appeal to younger people, although they weren’t personally affected by them. What isn’t mentioned, sadly, is that the
panel of regular gamblers numbered just a handful five whole people used to benchmark all of society. The supporting document of this report later admits that ‘the regular gamblers confirmed that most of them had been attracted by offers in the past and continue to be so (in fact, one employs a gambling system based around trading free bets on betting exchanges for profit)’. One of the panel has 32 online bingo accounts, all opened to take advantage of free play offers. Such a small and skewed panel should never be allowed to represent societal views. Thankfully, the ASA did conduct quantitative research but alas, through careful selection and interpretation of the results, have drawn negative conclusions when positive ones go unmentioned. An omnibus poll of 1,000 participants revealed that nine out of 10 people had not been prompted to participate in gambling activity by advertising. Not satisfied by this, the ASA went on to say that within the 25-34 year old age group, 44 per cent said an ad for a promotional offer had prompted them to participate in gambling. How could those two stats both be true? The ASA reaches that figure by looking only at a sub-group of respondents
who had previously placed a bet on ‘live events’ such as dog races, horse races and sports. It reveals that 20 per cent of that group said they were prompted by a free bet or other promotional offer to further participate. If the above group were segmented by just 25-34 year olds, you find the 44 per cent figure. I would be heartened that the ASA had to jump through such hoops to find a tiny subsection of already active gambling participants that would satisfy their unstated agenda, if the overall report didn’t draw such sweeping conclusions from it. In my opinion, the ASA report and its conclusions, is an alarming case of selectively using information to make an unbalanced and incorrect conclusion which is wholly unsupported by the fundamentally flawed research included in the report. Statistics are at their most convincing when they are used in combination with an explanation for why they are significant. It appears the ASA report expects the numbers to do the convincing on their own. Those of us in the industry will not have been convinced by this report, but the chance that others might have been is why it is vital that the Advertising Standards Authority withdraw the report with immediate effect.
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live Hawkswood’s defence of the gambling industry’s inability to speak with one clear voice rang true in many senses. There has been some real ugly lobbying in years gone by. It could be argued that some of it is in the politics of envy. Adult Gaming Centres are entirely justified in pointing to the betting shop’s now dependence on machine gaming and ask rather pointedly how that happened. It’s all too easy to blame the government for not levelling the playing field regulation-wise, but betting shops were at the forefront of technical innovation and caught AGCs on the hop. There’s only so much shifting of the blame that can be done before the different sectors pull up their own socks and help themselves. The bookmakers’ view on betting exchanges was similar, until they decided that if you can’t beat them, join them. There are very few bookies out there not using the exchanges in one
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“I don’t think the shops will ever go. They are more a social thing. Guys come in and they meet every day.” Boylesports owner John Boyle makes a big prediction
When contingencies become distant relations John Samuels of IBAS poses a question that the industry has more or less ignored for some time - how do you define a related contingency? he major sporting events of Summer 2014 have now come and gone but disappointingly, the period has left behind the traditional trail of related contingency bet disputes. With the current football season in full swing, they continue to fill the IBAS post bag. Part of the embarrassing problem that related contingency bets give the industry is that often they are not only accepted by the staff in the branch but far too often the individual leg prices have needed to be researched, written onto the bet slip and authorised by staff for the multiple bet to stand. All too often we also find that the whole bet - price and instructions – has been written for the customer by branch staff. Thus a bet of say a treble on Rooney to score, England to win at half time, and England to win at full time, with the 3 x correct single prices applied, is erroneously laid. One can understand why operators have rules in place that allows them the right to settle such bets as split stake singles. However, some operators are far-sighted enough to recognise that their systems or staff have made an error in taking the bet and in the event of all the selections being successful, attempt to calculate and pay at a combined price that is fair or settle the bet with the whole stake going on to the highest priced of the related selections. Such offers are typically made on the basis that if a customer offers such a bet and it is accepted, very few will return and claim a payment should one of the selections in the multiple bet lose and the customer
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form or another. While politicians may bemoan the antagonistic views the sectors seems to have for each other, and the conflicting messages that they receive, they should bear in mind that it is their predecessors that have helped inculcate such opposition over the course of a century. Before 2005, gambling legislation was piecemeal and erratic and certainly not consistent, so is it any wonder that the different sectors have not had a long history in finding topics of mutual interest. And even when each sector had compelling reasons for changes to be made, they found themselves head to head with their brethren for limited political attention and even more limited goodwill towards the industry. No, gambling has never been a vote winner and as such politicians are only likely to chance their arm on any pro-gambling industry change in small chunks.
With so few morsels of political help on the menu, is there any wonder that sometimes the lobbying resembled a bear pit? When the government has stepped in, it has introduced elements of head to head rivalry - witness several of the Levy Scheme agreements in years gone by with racing and betting going at it all night to meet the 31 October deadline. And occasionally not meet it. The message here is why should the gambling industry speak with one voice when the government doesn’t treat it as one entity. The gambling industry alone is a complex thing to grasp, just look at how 90 per cent of the media coverage concentrates on turnover for a start, but each subsector is even more complicated. Such nuances rarely boil down to one tasty soundbite. One of the other strong messages from the RGA AGM was that in areas of mutual interest it is very
beneficial to work together. The co-operation with the Gambling Commission to develop MOSES – the Multiple Operator Self Exclusion System, is helping to push a complex issue forward. By teaming up with EU Athletes and the Professional Players Federation, the industry is making huge advances in educating sports people via their coaches about corruption. The latest initiative has seen the police approach the RGA in order to persuade online gambling operators to stop advertising on websites that infringe copyrights. While there are those that look at the bottom line and decide that if it provides traffic then it is a viable partner, some of the operators with a greater concern over brand protection should probably be thinking twice about associating their brands with what are essentially criminal enterprises. The long term vision should comfortably outweigh the short term game.
Fulham and Charlton prompted me however to reconsider the hypothesis. Although Charlton won 13 of the 15 corners in the game Fulham went on to beat Charlton 3-0! Having discussed these cases with more statistically minded people, the educated view seems to be that much depends on which team scores first and when that goal (and any subsequent goal) is scored. For instance, in the Fulham game, Fulham scored in the 3rd and 12th minutes prompting Fulham to ease up on attack and Charlton to press up on attack. Consequently Charlton gained 13 of the 15 corners in the game, but still lost – had they pulled goals back, the corner count may have been more even. In essence then, forgetting who may start favourites to win the game, providing that the match takes place between two relatively even teams (i.e. not Brazil and San Marino) there is an argument for saying that one element of a possibly related bet serves to count against the other. And this is most pronounced should the pre-match favourites in both markets take the lead earlier in the game. On the other hand, either team could have one or more player sent off, arguably increasing the chances of further goals and corners for the team with the numerical advantage. So, the most goals and the most corners may or may not be related depending on the circumstances of the match. Where then, should a double on a team to win and to have the most corners stand in terms of the related contingency rule? CONSEQUENTLY CHARLTON GAINED 13 OF THE 15 CORNERS AGAINST FULHAM AND STILL LOST
ACTION IMAGES / STEVEN PASTON
e la différence
then demand payment on split stake singles on the one selection that was successful. But in some situations one may ask: To what extent can a bet be related before the related contingency rule kicks in? A double on a darts player winning the tournament coupled with the same player to score the most 180s? A double on a football team to win and there to be 1+ goals in the game? A double on Burnley to be relegated and Chelsea to win the Premiership? All the aforementioned examples are a pair of bets placed on a single event but where the related contingency rule was considered to be appropriate by the bookmaker who had bets (mistakenly) accepted. And in some of the examples they are clearly related contingencies. But the question IBAS often ponders when an operator applies the related contingency rule is how much does the success of one part of a double impact upon the success of the whole bet, and maybe does it affect it at all? Even though the bets are from the same event should the related contingency rule apply? Here is an interesting example: Consider a football double for a team to win the most corners and to win the game. Would you imagine that the result of one element of the above had an effect on the outcome of the other? One might conclude that the team starting favourite to win the game would not only be the team that was more likely to win the game but would also be the team that would win most corners. A recent game between
BettingBusinessInteractive • DECEMBER 2014 33
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While the market in the US has slowed up somewhat, Sportech’s football pools business is holding its own.
ACTION IMAGES / LEE SMITH LIVEPIC
Business THE FOOTBALL POOLS’ MATCHXTRA IS ATTRACTING PLENTY OF NEW BUSINESS
appointments
POOLS
ibraltar-based BetVictor has appointed Andreas G Meinrad as its new chief executive officer. Meinrad, who will assume his new role on 1 February, spent six
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Football Pools seeing digital player growth sale highlights the strength of Sportech’s market position and product offering following our recent investment, and we continue to develop prospective customers and sales. This includes a major sale of hardware and software to an international customer which is now likely to be concluded in 1Q 2015 rather than in the final quarter of 2014.” Sportech’s travails in the US seem to be a wider industry malaise rather than anything specific to the company. US thoroughbred racing industry data in the US shows that amounts wagered in the ten months to October is down 2 per cent on 2013. There have also been unusual changes to the racing calendar during the period which has resulted in a sharp decline of 10.5 per cent in amounts wagered, being partially offset by an increase of 2.7 per cent in October against the prior year. The Venues business has seen betting volumes decline against 2013 by 1.5 per cent so far, primarily due to ‘the macro industry trends together with the reduction in the amount wagered by certain VIP customers’
ANALYIS Hitherto Sportech’s shining knight, it seems the firm has started having a stodgy time of it in the US at the moment, which means that the good development news at the Football Pools side of the business is so well received. The firm’s joint venture with NYX, SNG Interactive, is on track to launch an online gaming platform in New Jersey in early 2015 as part of its agreement with Resorts Casino Hotel. However all the bombast about the money to be made online in the US has been tempered by the revenues generated by online gambling so far in New Jersey.
Codere sees some light after seven quarters of decline SPAIN
mbattled Spanish operator Grupo Codere has seen its net income losses jump by 36 per cent for the first nine months of 2014, reaching 136m euro (£108m). The losses have been attributed by the firm to increased costs in its debt restructure and its settlement with Italy’s Court of Auditors. In its latest financial report Codere senior management actually announced that it
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had returned to growth after reporting seven financial quarters of decline. The operator posted a Q3 2014 revenue improvement of 352m euro (£280m), which was a 7.6 per cent increase on the preceding quarter. However Codere’s revenue performance still fell by 7.4 per cent compared to Q3 2013, as the operator reported that its revenues had been impacted by the devaluation of the Argentine Peso.
34 BettingBusinessInteractive • DECEMBER 2014
Like for like Codere reported declines in its 2014 EBITDA performance, recording a figure 36 per cent down on the previous year 06.7m euro (£84.6m). Further bad news saw the Spanish gambling operator report declines in all key performance indicators for 2014. Despite its continued yearly decline, Codere senior management remains positive that the operator can reverse its performance.
Management took time to highlight its efficiency measures which increased the company’s adjusted EBITDA margin to 14.8 per cent for 2014. Codere also stated that it would continue to promote its Italian business now that the operator has spent 36m euro (£28.5m) to resolve its dispute with the Italian Court of Creditors, in order to continue its operations in the region.
years with bwin.party in a number of positions such as chief marketing officer and chief commercial officer. During his time at the firm, he also played a role in the merger and subsequent integration process with PartyGaming. Meinrad said: “I am sure that my experience in the sector as well as outside of the industry, coupled with my passion for sports and betting, will help us fulfil the untapped potential of the business.” BetVictor owner Michael Tabor added: “Since acquiring BetVictor in May, we have been looking for a world class executive to lead the business. Andreas is an outstanding operator with a proven track record of success who will bring a wealth of global brand experience MICHAEL TABOR to BetVictor.”
ACTION IMAGES / JASON O’BRIEN
portech has revealed that trading in its Football Pools business is performing ‘in line with expectations’, but its USbased Venues and Racing and Digital divisions have been impacted by a reduction in amounts wagered in Connecticut and across the US racing industry. In a trading update covering 22 August to 10 November 2014, Sportech disclosed that new player recruitment for Classic Pools is continuing with 20,000 new players to date in 2014 compared to 11,000 in the same period of 2013. This has led to a reduction in the rate of decline in overall players. Encouragingly for Sportech which has been facing the legacy of an analogue business for some time, online player recruitment now accounts for over twothirds of current recruitment activity. The firm explained: “As part of our ongoing modernisation project, in October we re-launched footballpools.com on our proprietary ‘Turnstile’ platform, into which we have integrated our partner NYX’s existing gaming platform. This enables new customers and our approximate 240,000 existing direct channel customers to manage their accounts online, facilitating cross-sell opportunities to a wide range of pools and casino games. The new website has been built with a ‘mobile first’ approach using responsive design. Mobile and tablet already accounts for over half of the usage of the site.” Sportech has also launched a brand new single match pool betting product MatchXtra - which offers fixed-odds style betting opportunities on Premier League and televised football matches. MatchXtra is currently offering around 50 matches per week and circa 500 markets, with the offering set to expand and grow in the coming months. The firm also said that it is making good progress on its contract to supply Betfred’s Totepool business with a comprehensive suite of betting technology products both online and via mobile as well as its core Quantum tote system. Revenues expected to exceed £9m from the system sale and ongoing maintenance over the duration of the contract. The firm commented: “This
reek lottery and gaming provider Intralot has G announced the appointment of chief financial officer Antonis Kerastaris as group chief executive, following the retirement of Constantinos Antonopoulos. Kerastaris replaces Antonopoulos immediately, although Antonopoulos, who had spent twenty two years as CEO, is to remain at the company serving as vice chairman of the board of directors. Antonopoulos, who had been a founding member of Intralot in 1992, commented: “My colleagues and I are thankful for the support of the chairman of the board and the shareholders in a most enjoyable journey towards the creation of a large multinational company deeply rooted in five continents. I will continue to support the board and the management, towards the achievement of the company goals in the new era.” r. Charles Poncet, Dimitri Goulandris and Julien D Cohen have been appointed as non-executive directors of London Capital Group. Poncet is one of the leading international arbitration specialists in Geneva and has been a practicing lawyer for over 25 years, Goulandris has 20 years’ of experience in financial services, with a focus on private equity, and Cohen has worked for 15 years in general corporate management and financial investment and brings a breadth of experience as a non-executive director. Executive chairman Charles-Henri Sabet said of the new appointments: “A combination of their collective experience across a broad spectrum of financial and professional services, coupled with their extensive knowledge of transacting across borders, provides the group’s executive leadership team with the support needed as we progress with the next stage of development across our chosen business lines and selected JULIEN COHEN product offerings.” artin Pashley has been appointed to the role of M chief commercial officer at W2 Global Data Solutions, a provider of screening services of third party organisations and individuals. Pashley has more than 27 years industry experience within identity, fraud, money laundering customer acquisition, retail, payments and financial services, and has called upon his expertise as a non executive Director and investor in W2 Global Data Solutions (W2) since 2012. Pashley said: “I am very excited to take a more active role within the company as we forge ahead with the launch of new products that have been created in response to market demand and MARTIN PASHLEY technology innovation.”
Venetian Macao
17-19 November 2015
See you
next year!
For more information contact enquiry@MacaoGamingShow.com, visit MacaoGamingShow.com or telephone +853 6363 0080 or +852 6329 6008 Event Organizer
Supporting Organizations 博彩監察協調局 Direcção de Inspecção e Coordenação de Jogos
Event Co-Organizers
Diamond Sponsors
Event Contractor
BB123-p44-45-Agenda_09/10 01/12/2014 11:41 Page 1
Agenda
t’s the festive season so that means all the usual offerings at this time of the year – White Christmas, Christmas number one, top TV show and so on. OK we may not take vast fortunes on these markets, but they are terrific fun and give us an excellent opportunity to promote our odds to a wider audience. This period is also – weather permitting – an extremely busy and important one for horseracing. The month begins with the Grade One Tingle Creek at Sandown Park, followed by Cheltenham’s International meeting, Ascot’s pre-Christmas twodayer, the big Boxing day highlight that is Kempton’s King George, before culminating in, most importantly for us, the 42nd year of our sponsorship of Wales’s biggest race, the Coral Welsh National at Chepstow. Finally if it’s December it must be the PDC World Championship darts at the Ally Pally, with the market headed, yet again, by the incomparable Phil Taylor. Happy Christmas and a prosperous 2015 one and all!
ACTION IMAGES / STEVEN PASTON
2014 may still feel so young, but bookmakers are already hungrily eyeing up the fresh events coming our way in the new year.
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DAVID STEVENS
Ante Post: What the bookies say Head of PR Coral
It’s cold outside, but the football season is heating up and we can look forward to some real crackers during the festive period. Liverpool visit Old Trafford on Sunday 14 December, before hosting Arsenal a week later, then it’s a New Year’s Day London derby when Tottenham welcome Chelsea. With the Champions League group stages ending in December, we make the Blues – 6/1 with 666BET – the only realistic
Slot Summit arrives in Bogota he Slot Summit is coming to South America this month with its inaugural launch at the Hilton, Bogota. The Slot Summits are threeday conferences organised for all managers working in casinos or electronic casinos, with one Summit already held in France last month, Columbia now has a chance to host one – on 9-12 December. The conferences are sponsored by leading manufacturers of slot machines and other slot equipment. Topics include: Communication Protocols between Machines and Systems Server based Gaming Synergies between on-line and off-line Gaming Casino Visitor Profiles How to best use Mystery Prizes Multi Sensory Marketing, the impact of sounds, smells, colours Casino Marketing Through simultaneous translation, expert speakers will lead attendees through a
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wide range of subjects aimed at improving their casino slot floors. From effective marketing, performance assessment and matching player profile to game type. The programme also includes product presentations from the leading slot manufacturers. Over three days, attendees, speakers and sponsors will have the opportunity to meet and discuss the challenges faced by the modern casino and the opportunities available through new technologies. At each Slot Summit, casino managers, slot managers and marketing staff are taken through the key elements of building a successful slot floor - from recognising the types of players to choosing the right game volatility to maximise revenue and encourage return visits. The unique events also allow effective business networking between delegates, speakers and manufacturers in a relaxed setting through networking receptions.
36 BettingBusinessInteractive • DECEMBER 2014
English contenders. The FA Cup third round kicks off 2015. Unfortunately none of the 666BET Super Six non-league teams we sponsored in round one have made it but our trading team will cheer on all the underdogs. Sports Personality of the Year betting continues to grow. Lewis Hamilton’s second F1 title has shortened his odds but, despite deciding to represent Ireland at the 2016 Olympics, it looks to be Rory McIlroy’s crown after claiming the Open Championship. Michael van Gerwen is a dark horse for Overseas Person-
ality. Elsewhere, the racing community makes its annual pilgrimage to Kempton on Boxing Day. BARRY MARTIN CEO 666BET
Aintree for the second year running. We are sweet on the Gordon Elliott horse Roi Du Mee, He had a decent prep run the other day behind Champagne Fever at Clonmel, Is dropping in the weights, jumps for fun and at 25/1 is a huge price! On Boxing Day we have the King George VI at Kempton, which may provide us all with a few more clues as to who is going to win, what has to be the most open Gold Cup we have seen at Cheltenham in many years. This is followed on the 27th by the Welsh National at Chepstow where Mountainous bids to be only the second horse ever to win the race twice. Man United v Liverpool is the stand-out Premier league fixture on the 14 December and between the 9-11 December the final group matches in the Champions and Europa league take place. Arsenal and Chelsea may well have secured their places in the knockout stage by then but Man City and Liverpool have it all to do. Amir Khan takes on Devon Alexander on the 14 December and England play the remaining five of the seven-match ODI series in Sri Lanka hoping to gain a much needed win and deciding which is our best eleven for the upcoming World Cup. Finally the PDC World Championship darts starts at the Ally Pally from the 18 December to the 4 January. This is always a great tournament with plenty of betting opportunities, can The Power capture his 15 title or will Mighty Mike reign supreme again!
As what has been a fantastic year for sport draws to a close, December promises to end the year on a high! Sprinter Sacre returns in the Tingle Creek at Sandown on the 6 December and LEON HOSKING on the same day Chance Du Roy Director of Sportsbook and Online tries to win the Becher Chase at Apollobet
My Diary: Michael Golembo The sales and marketing director of SkillOnNet, Michael Golembo, said his diary is ‘ever-changing’, but added that he wouldn’t have it any other way. n the past 12 months, we’ve been focussed on harnessing the power of our very successful B2C businesses to launch an equally strong B2B offering. I firmly believe that our online casinos will remain a key driver for SkillOnNet in future, as there are invaluable lessons we learn on a daily basis from the public. Which games are popular? What can we do to improve them even further? Are our sites offering the kinds of games that consumers want? I don’t think we’d be able to answer those questions nearly as well as we do now, if we didn’t have daily interaction with players. I wake up every morning with the goal of improving the business. There is a brilliant example of this that I’ve borrowed from the world of sport called the ‘aggregation of marginal
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gains’, first popularised by the British cycling team. The theory is that many small improvements will result in major gains when added together. I’ve been challenging the wider team to make consistent small improvements in their business areas using this method in our weekly meetings and am delighted with the outcome. I’m very
confident we now have the knowledge and expertise to help more and more operators run successful casino white labels. Due to this continual improvement, SkillOnNet has had a fantastic year, with another exciting one on the horizon. We acquired Jackpot Party, successfully migrated players over to a brand new
site called SlotsMagic, and are in deep discussions for further deals of that ilk. Inevitably, this requires a fair bit of travel, but that’s par for the course in this industry! Similarly, the ink is barely dry on an agreement with Net Ent to utilise their popular games on our sites and via partners, so I’m off to London to meet our PR team to discuss our wider plans, including ICE 2015. It’s the first time we’ll be showcasing our B2B business at ICE and the team can’t wait for the landmark event to begin. If I do manage to secure a rare day off, I’m going to try to get a round of golf in and catch up with friends and family. But if you do see me on a golf course, you’ll quickly realise how busy it’s been at SkillOnNet recently as my handicap is skyrocketing!
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London Baby goes Parisian The sports betting industry’s main networking event around ICE Totally Gaming – London Baby! – will be held at the Café de Paris in Central London on Tuesday 3 February. The free networking event is in its fifth year and anyone wishing to attend is advised to pre-register on the SBC News website.
ICE provides a perfect mixture for business
LISTINGS MONTHLY BRIEFING
5The Racing Post is hoping that ICE will continue to make headline news. acing Post, one of the best known brands in betting, is once again putting its full weight behind February’s ICE show in London with betting industry writer Jim Cremin describing it as the business equivalent of ‘the Grand National, the Melbourne Cup and the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe all rolled into one’. Cremin, a long-time supporter of the event, said: “ICE is inspirational in so many ways, and that makes it priceless for all involved. It’s a perfect mixture of hard-nosed business set against a backdrop of gaming innovation as well as providing an opportunity for the industry to meet old friends and make new ones.” Now entering its fourth year, the Racing Post Café (Stand S2-130) acts as a central hub for the betting industry to network with decision makers from inside and outside the sector, consider ideas and discuss new concepts. Cremin also explained how the café is an important contact point for the Racing Post to engage with its core audience as well as explore new opportunities in the gaming sector. “Without any doubt ICE is our single most important show from a commercial perspective. As per usual, we will have lined up a series of meetings with key clients, as this is the one show of the year that
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all of the key decision makers attend. “Our traditional strength is in the UK and Irish markets, but more recently we have been gaining traction internationally – a development which is due in no small part to our attendance at ICE. There is an established appetite for our content internationally, and we have a brand that seems to resonate everywhere. “Despite the fact that ICE is our ‘local’ show, it’s the most critical in terms of generating international business. Quite simply, it’s easier to meet the most relevant people at ICE over three days than it is to cover half the globe chasing business.” He added: “From a new business perspective, we will have staff on hand at all times to discuss what we provide to our customers, and what we could provide to new customers, whether that concerns new products, new content, or any of the various sports we cover. We are there to talk print, web, mobile, tablet and retail solutions, and we provide quality offerings for each medium.” ICE organisers have announced that many of gaming’s most influential trade associations and representative bodies have also confirmed their attendance at next year’s exhibition.
The 26 strong list of organisations heading for London in February comprises; AGEM, American Gaming Association, Association of British Bookmakers, Bingo Association, eCogra, European Association for the Study of Gambling, European Casino Association, European Gaming and Betting Association, European Sports Security Association, Gambling Commission, Gambling Portal Web Masters Association, Gambling Therapy, GamCare, Gaming Regulators European Forum, Gaming Standards Association, Gibraltar Betting & Gaming Association, IAGA, Interactive Gaming Council, International Association of Gaming Regulators, International Masters of Gaming Law, International Social Games Association, National Casino Forum, National Gaming Academy, Remote Gambling Association, The Responsible Gambling Trust, and the World Lottery Association. Kate Chambers, portfolio direc-
tor responsible for ICE, said: “Whilst the primary function of an international event such as ICE is based around the commercial exchange of new products and services, the exchange of knowledge, information and ideas have become increasingly important. It has been well documented that most, if not all of gaming’s transformational products have been launched at ICE. “But as well as being the commercial centre for world gaming, ICE is increasingly the industry’s political hub and the landmark event at which policy is debated and decided by many of the industry’s most influential trade bodies. We are committed to work in partnership with our trade association partners to ensure that ICE remains at the centre of all things gaming and in the process delivers on behalf of all of its community of stakeholders.” JIM CREMIN OF THE RACING POST
LAC moving to Olympia he London Affiliate Conference (LAC) is moving to London Olympia and will take place on the 31 January-3 February 2015. Last year, the event was billed as a success by organisers with over 3,000 people in attendance - its biggest London event to date. To accommodate for the increased number of delegates and exhibitors, the conference has had to move to a bigger venue increasing the show floor by 50 per cent. London Olympia is one of London’s biggest and oldest exhibition centres. It opened in 1886 and following a recent refurbishment, is an ideal venue for LAC’s continued expansion. Based in fashionable High Street Kensington, the area boasts some of the best restaurants and shops in London and is just a
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stone’s throw from the centre, which means delegates will be able to truly mix business with pleasure whilst in attendance. “We are extremely excited that the show has grown to the extent that we have to move to London Olympia to meet the demand of our delegates and exhibitors,” said Shona ODonnell, head of operations for iGaming Business. “The fact that we are going back to the first venue that hosted LAC back in 2007, having grown from having 300 delegates to over 3,000, is very exciting. The show continues to grow and innovate, delivering ROI for both our exhibitors and delegates. We look forward to continuing this in 2015 with the addition of new zones, an excellent venue, a revamped awards and a focus on increasing our
delegate base to over 4,000 people.” One of these new zones in 2015 event will be the Acquisition zone, which will feature a comprehensive and dedicated area for service providers involved in the entire marketing mix from email service providers and tech companies, through to performance marketing and creative agencies. The zone will also include a
lecture area with the leading experts presenting and discussing acquiring, retaining and maximising player acquisition. The zone has been created by organisers to meet the demands and demographics of the delegates which has developed to reflect all player acquisition channels rather than just affiliate. Organisers have also confirmed the Financial Partners Expo will be co-
located within the venue and will be occupying over 2,000 sqm, driving an expected additional 1,000 affiliates and introducing brokers. The Financial Partners Expo was launched at LAC in 2014 and has quickly grown to be the largest dedicated exhibition and conference for affiliates, binary options brokers and introducing brokers within the retail finance sector.
DECEMBER 2014 2-4 Future iGaming, America Square Conference Centre, London, UK 8-11 The 41st Annual Symposium on Racing & Gaming, Westin La Paloma Resort, Tucson, Arizona JANUARY 2015 18-20 Affiliate Summit West 2015, Paris Casino Las Vegas, USA 20 Society for the Study of Gambling Meeting, London Mathematical Society, De Morgan House, London 31 – 3 Feb London Affiliate Conference 2015, London Olympia, London, UK FEBRUARY 2015 2 European Online Gaming Law 2015, Crowne Plaza London – The City Hotel 2 International Casino Conference, ExCel Conference Centre, London, UK 3 World Regulatory Briefing, ExCel Conference Centre, London, UK 3-4 Data Insight and Business Intelligence, ExCel Conference Centre, London, UK 3-4 Cross-Platform and Multi-Channel Gaming, ExCel Conference Centre, London, UK 3 Lotteries for the Future, ExCel Conference Centre, London, UK 3-4 Game Design and Development, ExCel Conference Centre, London, UK 3-4 BetMarkets, ExCel Conference Centre, London, UK 4 Cybercrime, Security and Regulatory Compliance, ExCel Conference Centre, London, UK 2-4 2015 New Horizons in Responsible Gaming Conference, Vancouver, Canada 2 8th Annual International Gaming Awards (IGA), Savoy Hotel, London, UK 3-5 ICE Totally Gaming, ExCel Conference Centre, London, UK 3 London Baby Sports Betting Community Networking Party, Café de Paris, London 4 Fire & Ice, The Troxy, London 26 iGaming Legislative Symposium, Sheraton Grand Sacramento Hotel, Sacramento, USA MARCH 2015 18-19 Caribbean Gaming Show & Summit, Caribe Hilton, San Juan 18-19 FAJDA Peru 2015, Atlantic City, Lima, Peru
BettingBusinessInteractive • DECEMBER 2014 37
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Analysis
Sky Bet aimin Paddy Power’ Freebets.com’s Graham Tower explains why Paddy Power has dominated the title of Bookmaker of the Month almost from the beginning of money back analysis.
ACTION IMAGES / CARL RECINE LIVEPIC
ky Bet rolled its sleeves up in October to give punters the best chance of receiving a free bet on promotional offers, according to the latest report on money back offers from Freebets.com. While Paddy Power takes the overall plaudits for Money Back Bookmaker and Money Back Offer of the Month in October, it’s refreshing to see another big name in the world of internet betting coming to the fore and giving extra back to sports punters. It’s something of a surprise that it’s taken so long for Sky Bet to make the headline in the industry analysis into money back offers. It’s not as if the gambling arm of the mighty BSkyB corporation is a lightweight player. Far
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TOP TEN
TOP TEN
MOBILE AVERAGE JOURNEY - PAGE DELIVERY TIME (SECS)
MOBILE JOURNEY AVAILABILITY (%)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
SportingBet - 0.51 Sky Bet - 0.89 Betfair - 1.01 Totepool - 1.32 BetFred - 1.66 Paddy Power - 1.75 Bet Victor - 1.81 Ladbrokes - 1.94 William Hill - 2.71 Stan James - 2.91
Chart supplied by: SciVism. Data for October Working Hours 08:00-23:00
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Chart supplied by: SciVism. Data for October Working Hours 08:00-23:00
TOP TEN MOBILE AVERAGE JOURNEY - STEP SIZE (KB) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Sporting Bet - 82 Bet Victor - 114 Sky Bet - 145 Ladbrokes - 227 William Hill - 233 Coral - 237 Bet 365 - 279 Betfair - 323 BetFred - 404 Totepool - 581
Chart supplied by: SciVism.Data for October Working Hours 08:00-23:00
Stan James - 99.95 Sky Bet - 99.75 SportingBet - 99.69 William Hill - 99.64 Bet Victor - 99.51 BetFred - 99.49 Ladbrokes - 99.47 Betfair - 99.34 Paddy Power - 99.09 Bet 365 - 98.60
(1) Winner (2) Paddy Power (3) 888Sport (9) Coral (-) BetBright (4) BetVictor (8) Titanbet (6) William Hill (7) 10bet (10) Totepool
Chart supplied by: Freebets.com. Data for October . Sorted by value excluding free bet payback
See you next year! 38 BettingBusinessInteractive • DECEMBER 2014
TOP TEN MOBILE JOURNEY CONSISTENCY (SD) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Sky Bet - 0.18 BetFred - 0.37 SportingBet - 0.67 Bet Victor - 0.69 Paddy Power - 0.69 Stan James - 0.74 Bet 365 - 0.93 Ladbrokes - 1.26 Betfair - 1.55 Totepool - 2.49
Chart supplied by: SciVism. Data for October Working Hours 08:00-23:00
TOP TEN UK HORSERACE POOLS
TOP TEN BOOKMAKERS FOR ENHANCED ODDS OFFERS 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
from it, the sportsbook has a generous sign up offer of a £20 free bet for staking only £5 on the first bet and gives regulars a £5 free bet every week with its customer loyalty scheme, Free Bet Club. The marketing team came up with another winner in October when its offer of a refund if Wayne Rooney scored anytime for England v Estonia was the most likely money back trigger last month. This is not the first time that Sky Bet has dipped its toe in the money back waters, the website usually features free bet refunds during big race meetings such as Cheltenham, Royal Ascot and Aintree and also got involved during the World Cup with a variety of mney back and free bet offers. But in comparison to the likes of Paddy Power, bet365, William Hill and Betfair, they tend
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Ascot - Qipco British Champions Sprint Stakes (Group 2) Ascot - Balmoral Handicap (Sponsored By Qipco) Ascot - Qipco Champion Stakes (Group 1) Ascot - Queen Elizabeth II Stakes Sponsored by Qipco (Group 1) Ascot - Qipco British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes (Group 1) York - Coral Sprint Trophy (Handicap) Ascot - totepool Challenge Cup (Heritage Handicap) Ascot - Qipco British Champions Long Distance Cup (Group 2) Aintree - Betfred Monet's Garden Old Roan Chase (Grade 2) Newmarket (Rowley Mile) - Betfred Cesarewitch (Heritage Handicap)
Chart supplied by: Totepool. Data for October
Venetian Macao 17-19 November 2015
BB123-p38-39-Analysis_09/10 01/12/2014 15:51 Page 2
TOP TEN GLOBAL POOLS
SPONSORED BY MACAO GAMING SHOW 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
ming to peg back wer’s value offers
GBR - Colossus Bets - The £10,000,000 Colossus - E12,725,900 SWE - V75 -Hagmyren- E8,998,127 ESP - La Quinella - E6,154,575 GBR - Classic Pools - E3,817,770 SWE - V86 - Solvalla/Aby- E2,910,234 GBR - Colossus Bets -Pick6 - E2,545,180 AUS - Ladbrokes Megapick - Caulfield Guineas Day- E2,067,408 AUS - Ladbrokes Megapick - Caulfield Cup Day- E2,067,408 AUS - Ladbrokes Megapick - Cox Plate Day- E2,067,408 GBR - Colossus Bets - The £1,000,000 HDA15 - E1,272,590
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 October
TOP TEN TOP TEN ONLINE BETTING EVENTS
FACTS FROM OCTOBER 2014 MONEY BACK OFFERS REPORT 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Paddy Power ranked October 2014 Bookmaker of the Month, 2nd bet365, 3rd William Hill 7th time in the last 12 months that Paddy Power has been rated Bookmaker of the Month Paddy Power’s ‘Pick Your Own Money Back’ is rated Money Back Offer of the Month in October 2014 Sky Bet’s ‘Moneyback if Rooney scores anytime’ (Estonia v England) was the most likely free bet trigger in October 2014 Betfair and Coral tied to provide most Unique Offers (9 each) ahead of Boylesports (8) Bookmakers provided a combined total of 78 Unique Offers in October, down 22 year-on-year and up 3 on the previous month. Coral ranked first for Total Bookmaker Offers (115) ahead of Betfair (105) and 888sport (94) Bookmakers provided 905 Total Bookmaker Offers in October, beating the previous record of 843 set in September Six bookmakers, Betway, Betfair, Boylesports, Ladbrokes, Stan James and William Hill, each offered a mobile exclusive money back offer in October Paddy Power provided five of the top ten unique Money Back Offers in October
Chart supplied by: Freebets.com
to play it low key giving preference to a loyalty scheme that ensures all its customers can get a free bet each week without the limitations tied to money back offers which is more like free insurance on selected bets. The record for the total of money back offers was broken for the second consecutive, a high of 843 was reached in September and the figure was beaten again in October when there were 905 money back offers available on Freebets.com. www.freebets.com conducts in-depth analysis of Money Back offers promoted on the websites
of leading online bookmakers every month. The list of monitored bookmakers reads; 10Bet, 188BET,888sport,bet365,Betfair Sportsbook, Betfred, BetVictor, Betway, Boylesports, Coral, Ladbrokes, Paddy Power, Sky Bet, Sportingbet, Stan James, Titan Bet, Unibet, William Hill and Winner. The analysis focused specifically on Money Back offers and other promotions such as bonuses, concessions and guarantees are not included. ‘Money Back’ is a widely accepted term in the betting industry for real cash and free bet refunds on selected events
and markets offered as insurance against a scenario proposed by the bookmaker. A typical example of Money Back in December was a refund offered on losing World Championship Darts Outright Winner bets if Phil Taylor won the tournament, i.e ‘Money Back if Phil Taylor Wins’. The report introduced analysis of mobile exclusive offers from 1 July 2013 in addition to those promoted via bookmakers’ main websites which are available to both web and mobile customers. Retail offers are not included. In order to determine its
TOP TEN BOOKMAKERS FOR MONEYBACK OFFERS 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
(1) Paddy Power (2) bet365 (3) William Hill (4) Betfair (8) Stan James (7) Winner (6) Betfred (5) 888sport (-) BetVictor (9) Betway
Chart supplied by: Freebets.com . Data for October
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Paddy Power - Football: Pick your own money back Bet365 - Greyhounds: Sky Dogs 2/1 Paddy Power - Rugby: If forward scores 1st try Paddy Power - Rugby: If full back scores 1st try Paddy Power - Rugby: Championship Pick your own money back Paddy Power - Rugby: Union Pick your own money back Sky Bet - Football: If Rooney scores anytime Ladbrokes - Football: If both teams score Man U v Chelsea Sky Bet - Football: If both teams score Chelsea v Arsenal BetVictor - Football: If 4 or more goals scored
Chart supplied by: Freebets.com . Data for October
Sky Bet - Football: If Rooney scores anytime Ladbrokes - Football: If both teams score Man U v Chelsea Sky Bet - Football: If both teams score Chelsea v Arsenal BetVictor - Football: If 4 or more goals scored SkyBet - Football: If Man City score more than 1 v West Ham Paddy Power - Football: Pick your own money back Ladbrokes - Football: If a Spanish player scores first Chelsea v Arsenal Paddy Power - Rugby: Championship Pick your own money back Paddy Power - Rugby: Union Pick your own money back Bet365 - Greyhounds: Sky dogs 2/1
Chart supplied by: bettingexpert Freebets.com . Data for October
TOP TEN BETTING EXCHANGE MARKETS 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Horseracing - Champion Stakes, Ascot Horseracing - Prix De L’Arc De Triomphe, Longchamp Domestic Football - Man Utd v Chelsea, Premier League Horseracing - Betfred Cesarewitch, Newmarket International Football - Estonia v England, Euro Championship Qualifying European Football - Liverpool v Real Madrid, Champions League Horseracing - Racing Post Trophy, Doncaster Domestic Football - Chelsea v Arsenal Rigby League - St Helens v Wigan Warriors, Grand Final Golf - Volvo World Matchplay, The London GC
Chart supplied by: Betfred. Data for October
International Cricket - India v West Indies (2nd ODI) £63,404,598.70 International Cricket - Pakistan v Australia (3rd ODI) £51,652,986.36 International Cricket - India v West Indies (4th ODI) £50,933,729.26 International Cricket - India v West Indies (1st ODI) £50,110,418.44 International Cricket - Pakistan v Australia (1st Test) £43,428,694.84 International Cricket - Pakistan v Australia (2nd ODI) £40,551,150.12 T20 CL Cricket - Kolkata v Hobart £39,286,992.32 T20 CL Cricket - Chennai v Kolkata £36,479,947.30 International Cricket - Pakistan v Australia £35,192,332.32 T20 CL Cricket - Punjab v Chennai £32,780,326.04
Chart supplied by: Betfair. Data for October
TOP TEN ONLINE SPORTSBOOK PERFORMANCE RESPONSE TIME (SECS) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
(1) Bet365 - 0.64 (2) Betfair Sports - 1.26 (4) BetVictor - 1.51 (3) Totesport - 1.53 (5) Ladbrokes - 1.85 (6) Betclic - 2.21 (7) Sky Bet - 2.24 (8) Paddy Power - 2.99 (9) William Hill Online - 3.57 (-) Jenningsbet - 3.62
Chart supplied by: Gomez. Data for October
TOP TEN FOOTBALL BETTING WEBSITES
TOP TEN RETAIL BETTING EVENTS 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Domestic Football - Man Utd v Chelsea European Football - Liverpool v Real Madrid Horse Racing - Prix De L’Arc De Triomphe Horse Racing - Cesarewitch International Football - England v San Marino Domestic Football - Chelsea v Arsenal Spanish Football - Real Madrid v Barcelona Euro Qualifier - Estonia v England International Football - WBA v Man Utd Golf - Alfred Dunhill Links Championship
Chart supplied by: BetVictor. Data for October
TOP TEN MONEYBACK OFFERS BY CHANCE
TOP TEN MONEYBACK OFFERS BY VALUE 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Bookmaker of the Month for Money Back Offers, www.freebets.com uses an algorithm which takes into account the number of offers available, the maximum free bet or cash refund value and the likelihood of the scenario to come true in addition to the number of events and range of markets which qualify for the offer. The www.freebets.com team draws on over 50 years’ experience in the betting industry to attribute weightings for the various factors in the formula in order to provide comparative values to the complex array of promotions.
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BetVictor 19.68% Betfair exchange 15.12% Bet365 14.99% Paddy Power 8.94% Coral 7.27% William Hill 6.82% Ladbrokes 6.10% Sky Bet 5.37% Betfair Sportsbook 4.45% Betfred 3.53%
Chart supplied by: Oddschecker. Calculated on market share of betslip clicks Data for October for Football across UK, Euro & Internationals
BettingBusinessInteractive • DECEMBER 2014 39
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