BIDDING
Just one week after Lottomatica and Dogan Holding withdrew from Turkey's National Lottery bid, OPAP S.A. and Turkcell have placed official bids for the 10-year license.
According to Hürriyet Daily News, the Greek betting monopoly and Turkey's largest mobile-phone operator submitted bids on Wednesday.
Last October, OPAP’s chief executive, Christos D. Hatziemmanuel, was quoted by Reporter.gr, a news agency, as saying that the company has “good chances to win” the Milli Piyango lottery tender.
The 10-year license to operate the lottery will give the winner 17 percent of revenue after sales and gambling taxes, according to officials at Turkey's asset sales agency.
TURF WAR ENDS
After holding out for many months, Betfred will finally broadcast Amalgamated Racing Ltd.'s Turf TV from its more than 730 betting shops across the United Kingdom.
Fred Done, Betfred's founder, told The Telegraph last August that his company would be "the last one out of the trenches" and was reportedly angry about Turf TV's £5,000-per-shop charge.
Amalgamated Racing owns licensed betting office media rights to the 31 British racecourses that Turf TV covers. The five-year deal marked the end of a lengthy legal dispute between the two companies.
“You wait until the deal and the timing is right for the business," John Haddock, Betfred's managing director, told eGaming Review about the agreement. "At this precise time, the deal was right…"
In August, Amalgamated Racing claimed victory in the case brought against the company by bookmakers Afternoon Greyhound Services Ltd. , William Hill, Ladbrokes and Betfred.
COMING SOON
A study analyzing 3,445 online poker players behavior during a two-year period is
set to be published soon, said
Bwin Interactive Entertainment A.G.
Working together since 2005, Bwin and the Division on Addictions at Cambridge Health Alliance said it conducted the first-ever epidemiological analysis of actual gaming behavior.
The findings dispute online gaming as "a powerful seductive force" and as something with "greater problem potential" when compared to land-based gaming, according to the gaming operator. Additionally it showed that responsible gaming measures had an impact on players.
"In our intention to replace speculation with scientific evidence, ultimately we are interested in developing algorithms capable of identifying behavioral patterns or identifying risk patterns associated with disordered gaming," said Manfred Bodner, co-chief executive of Bwin, in a statement.
When examining the most involved poker players who devoted more time and money to the activity, the study found that the players reduced euros per session and reduced total wagered as percent loss increased, according to Bwin.
ACQUIRING
On Monday Managed Gaming Solutions announced the acquisition of TEC Trust Equity Capital Oy and Streamflood Oy, two Finland-based companies that process payments via mobile phones and online.
The mobile and interactive gaming solutions provider said it gained a 51 percent stake in TEC Trust Equity Capital Oy and 100 percent of Streamflood Oy.
Founded in 2006, Managed Gaming Solutions plans to use the acquired companies' technology to speed up its expansion to new territories. Most recently the group brought mobile lottery services to Venezuela and Curacao.
Calling the mobile micro-payment market "virtually under-served," Tero Turunen, Managed Gaming Solutions' executive chairman, said the acquisition will bring nice additional cash flow for the company.
SIGNING
WinADay.com, operated by Slotland.com, has signed an agreement with EyeView, an online video solutions provider, for a video conversion solution.
The 3-D casino will use EyeView's solution, which has been used by William Hill and 888 Holdings, to convert more first-time visitors into players, the companies said.