Archive for the ‘Breaking News’ Category
Paddy Power’s Oz launch; Hills to leave Spain; Bwin Q1s
Thursday, May 14th, 2009
Paddy Power has launched in Australia with the AUD48.5m purchase of a controlling stake in Australian bookmaker Sportsbet (more). In unrelated news, Paddy Power’s Spanish website is now refusing bets on bullfighting after pressure from campaign groups (more).
William Hill is withdrawing from its year-old joint venture in Spain with Codere, its second withdrawal from southern Europe in less than a year (more).
Dragonfish has launched a new Spanish bingo network, El Cartonazo, for its partner Daub Limited. The network will offter 90- and 75-ball rooms and quickplay games and daily free bingo.
Finsoft has also concluded a deal with football gaming business Sportech to distribute Sportech’s football pool products in licensed betting outlets (LBOs) belonging to two of Finsoft’s UK-based LBO clients and across two bookmaker chains in eastern Europe.
ID-verification company 192business has launched a new German ID check solution using data sources including German credit-agency Schufa (more).
Categories: Breaking News
Sportsbet acquisition opens doors to Oz market
Thursday, May 14th, 2009
Paddy Power has entered the Australian market by buying a controlling stake in Australian bookmaker Sportsbet.
The 51% stake is for an initial consideration of AUD48.5m (€27.2m).
The Irish bookmaker will make an initial cash payment of AUD45.8m (€25.7m) from its existing cash reserves of €96m, and issue of 100,000 Paddy Power shares to Sportsbet shareholders.
An additional cash consideration of AUD10m (€5.6m) will be made to Sportsbet shareholders in early 2010 if the company’s earnings before interest, tax, debt and amortisation (EBITDA) in 2009 (before transaction and restructuring costs) exceeds AUD16.5m (€9.2m). Sportsbet has already forecast EBITDA of AUD14.6m (€8.2m) for the year ending 30 June 2009.
Sportsbet chief executive and its current controlling shareholder Matthew Tripp will continue in his role. Paddy Power will appoint four directors to the Sportsbet board, including chief executive Patrick Kennedy and head of non-retail and online Breon Corcoran.
Sportsbet is a long established Northern Territory-licensed private operator, and owns 19.98% of International All Sports.
Under the terms of the acquisition, in the event that Sportsbet’s EBITDA for any of the years ending 30 June 2010, 2011 or 2012 is less than AUD11m (€6.2m), Paddy Power has the right to claw equity from Sportsbet’s existing shareholders on a proportionate basis to the shortfall in profitability.
Patrick Kennedy said: “The acquisition adds a new dimension to our business portfolio to which we can bring trading, risk management and marketing expertise honed in Ireland and the UK to complement Sportsbet’s existing skills and experience.”
At Paddy Power’s annual general meeting today, chairman Nigel Northridge will highlight the company’s “strong performance” in 2008
Categories: Breaking News, Sports Highlight
William Hill to end Spanish joint venture
Thursday, May 14th, 2009
William Hill is withdrawing from its year-old joint venture in Spain, its second withdrawal from southern Europe in less than a year.
The joint venture, named Victoria Apuestas, opened its first outlet in Madrid in April 2008 and now has 98 outlets in the Madrid and Basque regions.
The termination of William Hill’s Spanish venture is its second withdrawal from southern Europe after the sale of William Hill Codere Italia, its Italian joint-venture also with Codere, to Intralot Italia last summer (more).
Categories: Breaking News
Playtech results, Nyx FDJ, Entertasia, Million-2-1, 188Bet
Wednesday, May 13th, 2009
Software developer Playtech has announced its first quarter results since tying with William Hill Online, showing revenue up 8% on the same period in 2008.
Nyx Interactive is launching online bingo for French monopoly Francaise des Jeux (FDJ) next week. Entertasia has gone live with Fun88, its latest launch. The site includes live dealer casino and a sports betting platform. Entertasia will act as the in-house marketing agency for Fun88, providing players with gaming offers, sports news and information feeds.IGT-UK subsidiary
Million-2-1 has signed a strategic agreement with Rileys’ UK snooker and pool club chain. Million-2-1 will be responsible for Rileys’ mobile marketing campaigns and will also offer its mobile and online casino gaming products to its customers.In-play football betting specialist
188BET has signed a double shirt sponsorship deal with Premier League football clubs Bolton Wanderers and Wigan Athletic. The deal will run for the next two seasons, with the new kits worn for the first time by each team in their last home game of this current Premier League campaign.Categories: Breaking News, Technology
Paddy Power Spain withdraws bullfighting bets
Wednesday, May 13th, 2009
Paddy Power’s Spanish website is now refusing bets on bullfighting after pressure from campaign groups.
The Irish bookmaker, which is renowned for its novelty bets, received complaints after allowing Spanish customers to bet on how many ears matadors would cut off bulls.
The wagers produced hostility from animal rights campaigners, with the Irish Council Against Blood Sports describing them as “grotesque and in the poorest of taste.”
However in an e-mail to People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) this month, Paddy Power company secretary David Johnson confirmed that the company has “ceased accepting bets on bullfighting and it is not [the company’s] intention to offer this market again”.
PETA Europe Director Robbie LeBlanc said: “Bravo to Paddy Power for distancing itself from a barbaric ritual”.
Paddy Power was not available for comment.
Paddy Power is believed to be the only major bookmaker that has accepted bullfighting bets. William Hill media director Graham Sharpe commented: “We never have taken bets of this nature. We were astonished when we heard that another bookmaker was doing so. It is not something we would ever countenance doing.”
Categories: Breaking News
City of Dreams will become a reality, June 1
Monday, May 11th, 2009
In early May, City of Dreams announced it will open on June 1. City of Dreams is an integrated entertainment resort set to become the “must experience” destination in Macau. It is being developed by Melco Crown Entertainment Limited (Nasdaq: MPEL) (”Melco Crown Entertainment”), an entertainment company listed on the NASDAQ Global Select Market.
“Our goal with City of Dreams, our flagship development in Macau, has been to set a new standard of gaming and entertainment experience in Asia. I believe that we will achieve this goal,” said Lawrence Ho, Co-Chairman and CEO of Melco Crown Entertainment.
“City of Dreams is a ‘must experience’ next generation resort like no other in Asia, or perhaps the world, comprising distinctly branded casino floors, three separate world-class hotels, a unique shopping precinct The Boulevard which wraps around the casino floors and links the three hotel towers, and an awe-inspiring fully immersive multimedia show housed in the unique theater, The Bubble.”
“The opening of City of Dreams represents a culmination of nearly five years of planning and development. As our flagship property, it represents a major step forward in Macau’s transformation as the region’s premiere leisure, entertainment, and gaming destination,” he said.
“In addition to creating close to 7,000 job opportunities in Macau and providing career advancement opportunities throughout our organization, we have been able to deliver on our commitment to the employees of Altira Macau by returning them to normalized work schedules. As a people-centric organization with deep roots in Macau, we remain committed to grooming our employees and to having more than 50 percent of our core management positions held by local Macau people by the end of 2011.”
“With the opening of City of Dreams, I believe Melco Crown Entertainment is in the best position to thrive and add value to our stakeholders and the Macau community.”
The initial opening phase of City of Dreams will feature a 420,000-square-foot casino, a diverse range of accommodations including approximately 300 guest rooms Crown Towers offering unrivaled levels of personalized service, lavish style and uncompromising sophistication. The exciting music-inspired Hard Rock Hotel is a vibrant hospitality option of electrifying music themes and memorabilia, with approximately 300 guest rooms. Over 20 restaurants and bars, an impressive array of some of the world’s most sought-after retail brands within the unique lifestyle precinct The Boulevard is operated by leading travel retailer DFS; and the spectacular, one of its kind, audio visual multimedia extravaganza, Dragon’s Treasure, featured in the iconic dome-shaped The Bubble theatre.
“The opening of City of Dreams on June 1, will represent the only large-scale entertainment resort to open its doors in Macau this year,” said Greg Hawkins, President of City of Dreams. “Diversity is the key to City of Dreams. It is diverse by the nature of its dynamic mix of dining, shopping, leisure and entertainment offerings which are all quite unique. What we offer from Crown, to Hard Rock, to The Bubble experience, and in later stages Grand Hyatt Macau and Dragone, is distinct and different both to each other and to anything else in Macau.”
“This exciting project has also provided an abundance of jobs and outstanding career opportunities to the Macau people. City of Dreams will generate a diverse range of travel, food and beverage, leisure and entertainment industry related careers, essential for the long-term growth of Macau.”
“By appealing to a wide-array of travelers with the complete set of dining, shopping, leisure and entertainment offerings, City of Dreams is helping to reposition Macau as the leisure and entertainment epicenter of Asia.”
The impressive launch of City of Dreams on June 1 will be followed by opening of Grand Hyatt Macau and the highly anticipated Dragone show. Grand Hyatt Macau offering approximately 800 guest rooms will be completed in the third quarter of 2009 and the Dragone inspired theatre production will open in the purpose-built Theatre of Dreams soon thereafter. The final planned phase of development at City of Dreams will feature a luxury apartment hotel consisting of approximately 800 units.
Mr Ho said celebrations to be held in conjunction with the Grand Opening of City of Dreams will be announced shortly. - PRNewwire-Asia
Categories: Breaking News, Marketing
Finnish ban on gaming marketing expected
Friday, May 8th, 2009Finland is debating a countrywide ban on all gambling marketing which is expected to pass as early as the autumn. The ban would outlaw “indirect advertising and other sales promotion activities”, including all sponsorship in exchange for the display of a brand’s logo. This would prevent gaming operators from sponsoring sports event or players, and from branding media such as beer mats or taxi cabs, even when no direct enticement to gamble is made.
Finland’s national gambling market is said to be worth €2.2bn annually. The value of the overall market, which includes illegal betting with online operators, is unknown, although 41 % of Finns are understood to gamble on a weekly basis.
The legislation is being debated by the Finnish parliament and is expected to pass due to the widespread support in Finland for the country’s prohibitive gaming regulation. According to a survey in June 2008 by Veikkaus Oy, Finland’s state monopoly for betting and lottery, almost 82% of Finns support the present monopoly system.
The ban is being proposed in response to EU pressure to rectify Finland’s position on the legality of its monopolies, and would affect both foreign operators and local gaming monopolies, including Veikkaus Oy; RAY, which operates casinos; and Finntoto, which runs horse betting.
Despite challenges from the likes of Ladbrokes and Paf, the gambling company of Finland’s semi-autonomous Åland islands, Finnish courts have so far held that the monopolies do not violate EU law. However, the EU Commission filed an official complaint against Finland’s gambling regime in 2006 which is still pending.
In rejecting an application by Ladbrokes for a local license in May 2007, the Finnish Supreme Administrative Court also noted that Veikkaus Oy’s marketing activities are “not without problems” under EU law, which provides that states may only market their monopolies to direct the inevitable demand for gambling toward the national operator, not to increase the overall demand for gambling. However the Court concluded that Veikkaus Oy’s ”problematic” behaviour can be remedied by amending the marketing regulations, leading the Finnish parliament to act.
Pekka Takki, a gaming lawyer at the Helsinki office of law firm Bird & Bird, said: “In my opinion the present Finnish model can’t hold. But political opinion and public opinion here are always in support of the monopoly.”
Categories: Breaking News, Legislation, Marketing
Long-drawn battle ends between Betfred & TurfTV
Monday, April 20th, 2009In December, the same judge who had heard the original trial granted leave to the bookies to appeal the first judgment, but refused leave to Amrac to appeal in relation to its counterclaim.
Categories: Breaking News, Legislation, Sports Highlight
Irish Tote Pool betting unveiled
Thursday, August 28th, 2008
Betfair and Tote Ireland have announced a deal which will see Irish Tote Pool betting, traditionally only available track-side at Irish race courses, made available to the 2.1m registered customers of Betfair worldwide.
Using the funds in their account, Betfair customers will be able to bet directly into the Irish Tote’s pools on all markets, including Tote Win, Place & Each Way, Tote Forecast, Tote Trio and the Tote Jackpot and Placepot. The deal follows the successful partnerships Betfair has already forged with the UK and Australian Totes.
Commenting on the deal, Tote Ireland chief executive Alexis Murphy, said: “Tote pools offer unique products and features which should be highly appealing to Betfair customers. In consequence, we anticipate this agreement will further enhance liquidity in the Tote’s pools and help us further increase our contribution to Irish racing.”
Categories: Breaking News
