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IG Group shows growth

Spread betting firm IG Group Holdings releases its interim results for the six months to the end of November, showing a 14 percent year on year increase in revenues to £143.8 million.

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation rose 34 percent year on year to £81 million, while the firm’s adjusted profits before tax were also up 34 percent compared to the same period in 2008 to £78 million.

“We are pleased with this revenue growth given that the comparative period in 2008 itself showed strong growth of 47 percent over its prior year comparative period in 2007,” said IG Group. “This was due to equity and foreign exchange markets being extremely volatile in September and October of 2008, which resulted in a significant boost in client activity and revenues for those months. Volatility was much lower during this first half, although the impact of this was partially offset by a strong rally in equity markets, which resulted in a boost in the proportion of our revenues coming from clients trading individual stocks.”

IG Group said that its earnings margin hit 56 percent for the six-month period, which was an increase of eight percent year-on-year.

“IG Group has again delivered record results with strong growth in both revenues and profits,” said Tim Howkins, Chief Executive Officer for IG Group.

February 9, 2010

Spielo now licensed in Nevada

Lottomatica subsidiary Spielo has been granted machine manufacturing and distribution licenses by the Nevada Gaming Commission.

The Commission granted licences to Spielo following an earlier recommendation from the Nevada Gaming Control Board and the firm will now distribute its products in the western American state through Atronic Americas.

Atronic Americas has been licensed for its own products since 1998 but will now be able to supplement its portfolio with Spielo creations including the ProdiGi Vu cabinet and the new Sensys EP platform together with a collection of compelling games.

“This is an exciting milestone in Spielo’s history as it further validates the company’s commitment to conducting business in a responsible manner and with the highest integrity,” said Victor Duarte, President and Chief Executive Officer for Spielo.

“By holding these licences, Spielo will be in a position to bring its cabinets, platforms and games, which have been successfully deployed in other jurisdictions, to the strategically-important Nevada market. Casino operators in the state will see great benefits from Spielo’s two decades of experience in delivering innovative, player-tested products.”

February 9, 2010

NYX appoints new Chief Operating Officer

NYX Interactive has announced the appointment of David Flynn as its new Chief Operating Officer.

Flynn joins following three years with online games software developer MicroGaming, and before joining MicroGaming, Flynn served as Vice President and Director for the Ongame Network and was also the European Operations Manager for Vision IQ. Flynn will work closely with Chief Executive Officer Staffan Lindgren to shape the firm's strategic direction.

NYX Interactive, licensed in Isle of Man, has an established technology platform powering Svenska Spel, La Francaise Des Jeux, Bonnier Gaming and Betsson and revealed that Flynn would also work with Chief Executive Officer Staffan Lindgren to shape the firm’s strategic direction.

February 9, 2010

Devilfish Gaming signs agreement with Merkur Win 

New consultancy entity, Devilfish Services, signs first B2B deal with Merkur Win, the Italian gaming brand owned by Gauselmann Group.

The agreement stipulates Devilfish to provide its expertise and development to launch Merkur Win’s impending online poker and casino products.

Merkur Win currently has a strong presence in Italian retail sports betting, following the acquisition of 233 licenses for betting shops and outlets by parent company Gauselmann in 2008, and through its new and dedicated consultancy unit, Devilfish will offer Merkur Win a number of gaming services including an online marketing strategy, design and setup of affiliate programmes, customer promotions and bonus programmes, product and channel management as well as 3rd party product selection.

“We are very happy to be involved with Gauselmann’s famous Merkur brands,” said Paul Barnes, CEO of Devilfish Gaming. “Devilfish has a lot to offer, because we both operate an online gaming business and share that know-how with selected strategic partners who are entering the market, using high-calibre in-house management consultants. In addition, we own the valuable Devilfish brand, which we also license to 3rd parties in non-competing markets.”

The German Gauselmann Group is a leading operator for amusement with prize machines (AWP) across Europe, posting consolidated revenues of €1.2 billion in 2009. Gauselmann recently sold the Atronic group of companies to Lottomatica’s GTECH for approximately €189 million.

February 8, 2010

Isle of Man announces regulatory changes

Changes in gaming regulations allow egaming firms to run its non-gambling related activities without an OGRA license.

Under the new regulations, activities excluded from the Online Gambling Regulation Act (OGRA) 2001 licence now includes marketing, administration, software downloads, customer support and relay servers allowing for igaming companies to base their non-gaming activities in a jurisdiction that supports all aspects of the industry.

The jurisdiction said that companies would still require an OGRA licence for core activities such as striking a bet and player fund activities.

“Our new streamlined regulations further demonstrate our commitment to growing the eGaming industry on the Isle Of Man,” said Garth Kimber, Head of eGaming Development for the island state’s Department Of Trade And Industry.

“The Isle Of Man is developing a multi-faceted eGaming industry and activities such as marketing, administration and customer support are an important part of this.

February 8, 2010

Playtech signs Virgin Games

Playtech signs a partnership agreement with operator Virgin Games.

The deal will see Playtech's gaming solutions developer, Gaming Technology Solutions Ltd, licence its EdGE software platform (Enhanced Gaming Engine) to Virgin Games.

Playtech said that the EdGE platform is an effective and easily integrated games engine that will allow Virgin to manage and operate its games with ease. In addition the platform’s ICE back office toolset will deliver many functional and performance enhancements to Virgin Games including support for marketing campaigns, customised reports as well as support.

“We are looking forward to working with Gaming Technology Solutions and, through the delivery of its platform, we have access to a variety of leading games content from world class developers,” said Warren Eloff from Virgin Games.

“We are delighted that Virgin Games, a well-established and leading operator, has chosen Playtech's Gaming Technology Solutions as its games integration partner and EdGE as its software solution,” said Mor Weizer, Chief Executive Officer for Playtech.

February 8, 2010

Probability mobile business slightly down

Mobile gaming company Probability trading update shows third quarter last year down with eight percent. 

Accordingly to a trading update released by Probability plc third quarter last year is showing an eight percent quarterly drop on net gaming revenues to £1.13 million, compared to previous year. 

The London based mobile gaming firm revealed that net gaming revenues for the three month period running to the end of the year were ‘slightly lower’ as a result of ‘higher withdrawals running up to Christmas’ and were new registered players for the quarter fell by just over three percent to 47,089.

In addition, Probability revealed that it had net cash and equivalents of £1.91 million at the end of the year, which was down from £1.96 million at the conclusion of its second quarter, while its new X Factor branded slot title attracted over £2.5 million in wagers during the screening period of live shows.

“As we expected, net gaming revenues were slightly lower than the previous quarter as players cashed in their winnings in November to finance their Christmas expenditure,” said Charles Cohen, Chief Executive Officer for Probability.

February 6, 2010

RealDealPoker.com to prove game fairness with odds 100 to 1

Gene Gioia is standing by his commitment to offer a fair game of poker online by offering 100 to 1 odds to players who request and pay for an audit.

Launching in March 2010, RealDealPoker.com uses a patented technology including a “cut function” and the deployment of “burn cards”. The patented Cut N’ Shuffle® system is a fully automated real card dealing system that scrambles, shuffles and deals real decks of cards, digitizes the results and then translates them to its online poker table games. Also used is the first system capable of producing post-game audit results, Game Check®.

For a small fee, any player can call for an independent, third party audit of any game, current or past. All game data, including the video capture of the originating deck is sent by the Gioia server to the independent auditing agency to enable them to compare the game results against the deck that was supposed to be used in that particular game.

An independent auditor can apply auditing procedures that will allow them to determine if the game play is accurate. If the auditor finds any irregularities in game and cannot validate the results, all players involved in that game will have their money from the game returned to them and the person calling for the audit will be credited 100 times the fee charged for the audit. So, for example, if the audit fee to the player is $50 and the auditor cannot validate the game, the player paying the $50 audit fee is credited $5,000 to his account. “

“This is our commitment to providing a game of poker that players can trust,” says Gene Gioia, founder of RealDealPoker.

February 5, 2010

Quebec government to legalise online gaming

The government authorizes the Société des loteries du Québecto to offer online gaming

In a press release Government of Quebec, Canada, said Wednesday that it has authorised the state lottery operator Loto-Quebec to offer online gaming to the resident's of the province, including poker games which set to launch later this year.

“Our government has decided to authorize the Société des loteries du Québec to offer online games of chance. Inasmuch as this is a sector that is developing exponentially in an illegal way, Loto-Québec is being given the responsibility of working to redirect this already existing but illegal gaming activity to a site that is secure, legal and trustworthy. I believe this to be an efficient way of fighting the underground economy,” declared Mr. Bachand. Loto-Québec, declared Mr. Cousineau, intends to carry out this project successfully and with the full rigor and integrity that have characterized its operations for 40 years.

February 5, 2010

PartyPoker play chip strategy

Angered discussions in poker communities on PartyPoker play chip decision. 

PartyPoker’s decision earlier this week to limit the maximum chip amount players can have in their play money account dominates discussions in the online poker communities.

Earlier this week, PartyPoker took the step to cap earnings in the play money games to a maximum of 250,000 chips. When players woke up on Tuesday morning, many people who had built up millions of these chips through years of play found that their accounts had been reset. PartyPoker reasons is to stop the transferring of chips from account to account outside of regular poker hands. Seemingly behind the decision was the selling of play money chips outside of the playing arena on PartyPoker, where it is reported that some sites offered one billion chips for $400. Accordingly to PartyPoker this makes for inequities in the play money games and PartyPoker policies is “We do not tolerate unfair play in any form, whether on our play money or our real money sites." The new policy and restriction does not affect Real Money accounts as their play money balance remains unchanged from one login to the next.

February 5, 2010

Microgaming signs deal with Warner Bros. Digital Distribution

The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy to enter online gaming.  

Microgaming announces a multi-year licensing agreement with Warner Bros. Digital Distribution, to create a series of rich graphic video slots based on the popular Lord of the Rings movie trilogy, available to internet gaming in countries where online gaming is permitted. The agreement gives Microgaming permission to develop online video slot games using animation material, themes and characters from the motion pictures The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.

Roger Raatgever, CEO of Microgaming said, 'We’re excited about creating state-of-the-art video slots from the best movie trilogy of the decade. We look forward to bringing The Lord of the Rings into the online gaming sphere, where our expertise in game quality and speed to market will ensure its success. The Lord of the Rings has a huge entrenched fan base with over 97% awareness of the film franchise, as well as phenomenal and unprecedented home video success.”

February 5, 2010

Norsk Tipping shows record high turnover for 2009

Turnover for 2009 reaches €1.34 billion.

Norwegian Government controlled Norsk Tipping shows a record year and has reported its highest ever annual turnover with NOK10.9 billion (€1.34 billion) for 2009, following strong growth in its interactive channel which saw internet and mobile turnover soar by more than a third versus the previous year.

February 5, 2010

Sweden's gaming legislation delayed

Sweden’s new gaming legislation is rumoured to be delayed due to legal concerns of enforcement.

The much anticipated new gaming legislation is said to be delayed as reasons of legal concerns over the viability of sanctions which it seeks to impose on illegal operators, and with a general election scheduled for September, many now believe that the partial market liberalisation is unlikely to occur before 2011.

According to Swedish Radio, which cites unnamed sources, there is major disagreements among lawyers per some of the regulations contained in the new bill, particularly with regards to sanctions towards violators of the new law. This has led to significant delays in the preparation of the bill, which was expected to be submitted to Parliament in March with a view to enacting the law before the general election in September.

Under the partial market liberalisation, foreign operators are expected to be authorised to offer sports betting to Swedish citizens, while Svenska Spel is expected to retain a monopoly over casino games and poker which the state considers to pose a higher risk to gamblers.

February 5, 2010

Net Entertainment shows strong growth 

Existing licensees as well as the launch of new customers shows a revenue growth of 46 percent for the full year.

Following a strong finish to the year, Sweden’s Net Entertainment AB said this Friday that total revenues for the full 2009 year amounted to SEK300.1 million (€29.6 million), an increase of 46% compared to the previous year, as a result of growth from existing licensees as well as the launch of new customers. During the year Net Entertainment signed 10 new license agreement for the CasinoModule and 14 new customer's casinos were launched.   

Johan Öhman, President and CEO, says: "We saw strong growth at the end of 2009 with a revenue growth of 12 percent during the fourth quarter compared to quarter three. The increase was the result of organic growth by existing licensees. The number of game transactions increased by 23 percent during the same period. Combined, this result shows

that there is a strong market development and demand for our products. This positive trend has continued in January."

February 5, 2010

PlayersOnly.com and Sportsbook.com to Merge Network

PlayersOnly and Sportsbook.com move from the Cake Poker Network to the Merge Gaming Network by mid-April.

In a press release PlayersOnly and Sportsbook.com stated, “Merge Gaming, the designer, developer, and licensor of software to the international online poker industry, today announces it has successfully agreed to migrate the online poker gaming activities of Jazette Enterprises to the Merge Gaming platform.”

Anthony Taylor, Chief Executive Officer of Merge Gaming, said, "This is a industry changing deal and we are delighted to have come to an agreement with Jazette Enterprises. This deal will bring massive liquidity to the network and see the online poker industry landscape change overnight. We are delighted to sign such an established partner to the network, it’s through our great software and superior backend we are able to attract a group of this size to the network.”

The Merge Gaming Network’s flagship is Carbon Poker and the network stands as the 20th largest worldwide accordingly to PokerScout.com, with a seven-day running average of 245 real money ring game players and during peak hours nearly 500 cash game players. Meanwhile, the Cake Poker Network is the ninth largest worldwide, with a seven-day running average of 2,150 cash game players.

February 05, 2010

PartyGaming announces fourth quarter

Group revenue for the fourth quarter 2009 was $132.2 million, up 32 percent.

Party Gaming PLC announced the financial results for the fourth quarter of 2009 and preliminary results for the fiscal year 2009. The company’s profits were up for the quarter compared to the previous year, but showed a decline for the fiscal year overall due to company decisions and purchases made.

Party Gaming’s group revenue for the fourth quarter of 2009 was $132.2 million, a change of 32 percent against the same time period last year ($100.4 million) and also showed an increase of 17 percent compared to the third quarter of 2009. For the year, however, revenue accumulated $446.2 million, a drop of over 6 percent compared to profits from 2008 of $472.9 million. Party Gaming purchased the World Poker Tour (WPT) in late 2009, which caused the 6 percent decrease in revenues.

Party Gaming also announced a new executive in Per Widerström. Widerström holds a long history in the online gaming industry, most recently as the Chief Executive Officer and Director of Mangas Gaming Malta. Widerström, in the past, also held the head position at Expekt.com.

“I am delighted that we have secured the services of such an internationally experienced and multi-disciplined executive as our Chief Operating Officer,” Ryan commented. “Per will report directly to me and will primarily be responsible for driving growth across the Party Gaming brands. He has a great track record for leading business operations and delivering results. I’m confident he will be a great asset for Party Gaming as we push ahead with our strategic plan.”

February 5, 2010

Dragonfish to assist Centric growth 

888's independent B2B division Dragonfish provides online casino and poker software to Centric Multimedia.

888 Holdings announces that its independent B2B division Dragonfish will provide online casino and poker software to the Greek digital media firm Centric Multimedia S.A. Centric which targets the southern and eastern European markets through its subsidiary Lex Online Entertainment is set to launch online gaming in a variety of languages shortly.

Dragonfish says that it is to supply the new operation with casino and poker software together with back-office technology, fraud and risk management systems, payments processing and customer support.

Centric recently reported a 29.5 percent increase in turnover to €546.7 million for the nine months ending in September. The Athens-based firm stated that it had a ‘strong track record’ in diversifying into new growth sectors and driving entry into new markets.

February 5, 2010

Gaming VC gears up for expansion

Gaming VC Holdings S.A. announces a ‘significant expansion’ of its CasinoClub and sportsbook brands into new territories.

To support the expansion, Gaming VC has revealed two new key appointments that will report directly to Kenneth Alexander, Chief Executive Officer for Gaming VC, and manage the international growth of its casino and sportsbook offerings.

The CasinoClub brand is set to expand outside its core German market with Gaming VC announcing that Jon Salmon, the former Chief Marketing Officer for PartyGaming and founder and past Managing Director for Ads Dot Com, will be responsible for additional marketing spend to maintain its existing German business.

“Jon has a successful track record of building teams and launching gaming specific marketing programmes and brings in-depth gaming experience to the group,” read a statement from gaming VC.

In addition, Gaming VC has appointed Jim Humberstone, the past Head of Sportsbook for SportingBet, to lead a team that will launch a number of new language versions of its sportsbook for southern Europe.

“These two new management appointments further strengthen the senior team at Gaming VC and will enable the group to continue its aggressive expansion into new products and territories,” accordingly to a statement from Gaming VC. “In total, the group expects to invest up to seven million Euros during 2010 to build the new businesses. Both businesses are expected to be loss-making in 2010 but make a contribution to earnings in 2011 and beyond.”

February 5, 2010

CryptoLogic signs deal with Bet24.com

CryptoLogic signs agreement to license 10 of its most popular games to Bet24.

The agreement covers some of CryptoLogic's top branded and non-branded slot games and will provide CryptoLogic with recurring revenues based on wagers placed by Bet24's customers.

Justin Thouin, CryptoLogic's Vice President, said: "Bet24 is our first new licensee of 2010 and builds on the strong momentum of new customers gained by CryptoLogic in 2009. With a growing roster of leading online gaming operators, CryptoLogic continues to increase its reach across the global player community with its compelling branded gaming content."

Bet24 was founded in 2001 and since 2005 is part of MTG. Bet24 offers gaming entertainment including exciting odds on international as well as local sports events, Casino, Poker, Games, Bingo and Lotto in 15 different languages on www.bet24.com. Bet24 has active clients in more than 70 countries enjoying the full array of gaming services.

Kim Larsen, Casino and Games Manager of Bet24, said: "The agreement with CryptoLogic is in line with our strategy of providing our customers with the best gaming entertainment products available in the market. We are delighted to offer their games to our customers and look forward to working with CryptoLogic to expand our business and enhance user experience."

February 4, 2010

Sportingbet extends GTECH G2 licensing agreement

Sportingbet extends agreement with GTECH G2 and adds bingo to its existing games portfolio.

Following a 5 years successful working relationship Sportingbet renews its commitment across all key products of G2 over a three year period, including poker, casino and games, and adding G2's newly launched bingo software whilst also entering a new phase of its sports betting relationship. 

Continuing with its success and core sports betting market, Sportingbet strives to achieve growth in all product domains, and offering multiple products from GTECH G2 through a single account is central to Sportingbet growth and player experience. Whilst operating their sports book on the acclaimed Margin Maker software, Sportingbet will also integrate G2’s Gaming Management System which will serve as the back office for bingo, poker and casino. In addition to the renewed commitment to GTECH G2’s IPN, Sportingbet is also working closely with G2 to launch poker in markets that are set to regulate in the near future.

February 3, 2010

Playtech profit rise up

Playtech trading update for fourth quarter 2009 shows a 21 percent year on year rise in gross income to €38.5 million.

The trading update revealed a 23 percent rise in gross income for the entire year when compared with the previous twelve month period to €137.3 million. Playtech further stated that total revenues for the fourth quarter reached €30.4 million, which represents a ten percent year on year increase, while its full year revenues increased with three percent when compared with 2008 to €114.8 million.

Casino revenues for the fourth quarter accumulated €20.7 million, which was an increase of twelve percent year on year, while those from poker for the three month period went up three percent compared with the same period 2008 to €8.4 million.

“The fourth quarter was a solid quarter with strong increases in all business areas,” said Mor Weiser, CEO for Playtech. “This strong performance has continued in the first three weeks of the year. The board is very comfortable with market expectations for the year ended December 31, 2009 and looks forward to 2010 with confidence as another significant year of development.”

February 2, 2010

Norway to stop online gaming

It is shortly expected that the Norwegian Government will place a stop on payments going to operators not licensed in Norway.

The decision to prohibit payments to foreign gaming companies was taken about a year back, and ever since technology has been in development to enforce the law and accordingly to industry rumours technology is now closing in on its final stage.  

Companies that will be effected if technology turns out successful is among others Betsson, Entraction, Net Entertainment and Unibet, as they presently do not hold a gaming license in Norway, while at the same time having a strong market in Norway. The Norwegian market alone is reported to be one of three main markets for Betsson.

February 2, 2010

King Solomon's Poker changes network

Online poker room King Solomon's moves from International Poker Network to iPoker Network. 

The move from Boss Media's International Poker Network (IPN) to Playtech operated iPoker Network is almost complete for online poker room King Solomon's. The site recently announced that players holding accounts on the Boss Media IPN will no longer have access to the tables of IPN as of February 1st.

Accordingly to King Solomon's Poker there were over 25,000 players across the iPoker Network at time of writing, which is substantially higher than the traffic through brands of IPN.

February 1, 2010

Betsson business solutions

Betsson launch B2B division to support brands and growth.

Stockholm based gaming group Betsson AB launches B2B subsidiary to provide partners with turnkey infrastructure and operational expertise. 

Betsson Malta Ltd CEO, Magnus Silfverberg, says that “Betsson Business Solutions will offer new and existing partners hard-earned expertise, experience and service. Partnering with Betsson will be a safe bet in creating a successful gaming venture. I believe this will help bring Betsson’s passion for great games and excellent customer treatment out on an even bigger scale. I am also happy to announce that Jonas Konstantinov is appointed new Managing Director for Betsson Business Solutions.”

February 1, 2010

32Red acquires NedPlay.com

Online casino NedPlay.com now under strong ownership.

With less successful operations NedPlay.com is now under new ownership as 32Red takes over, the deal includes player database and all intellectual property. 32Red stated that the purchase would bring players at NedPlay.com the ‘same high level of service and support and exciting promotions’ as enjoyed by players at 32Red brands and sites.

“We are pleased to have NedPlay.com join our group and look forward to delivering the same high standards we apply across our existing operations to NedPlay.com,” said Ed Ware, Chief Executive Officer for 32Red, and that NedPlay.com brand will continue its business as is for the time being as 32Red evaluates the brands future in the weeks to come. Players with approved pending withdrawals should expect payment shortly, while unresolved compensation to the site’s affiliate partners would be settled in the short-term.

February 1, 2010