Playtech, the London-listed software supplier, has agreed to supply Betsson AB, the online gambling operator, with its casino software platform. Betsson is to receive 110 casino-style games, with Playtech to offer a downloadable version of its casino to CherryCasino.com and CasinoEuro.com -- both Betsson properties. The games, Playtech said, will be localized and available in 11 languages.
Across 2007, Playtech reached licensing agreements with 15 companies, eight of which were former licensees of Tribeca Tables. This year, AsianLogic -- whose relationship to Playtech is tight but unclear -- licensed Playtech software to the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp., Bingo Bonanza (also of the Philippines) and Asian Poker Tour.
When asked about H.R. 5767, the new bill co-sponsored by U.S. Representatives Barney Frank and Ron Paul, Ryan Patmintra, a spokesman for Jon Kyl, the Arizona Republican and Senate Minority Whip, told The Hill:
"Our office will vigorously oppose any efforts to repeal or water down any parts of the [Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act]."
Marketing Week reports last-ditch mediation talks between high street bookmakers and Turf TV, the betting shop broadcaster, have collapsed, rendering the April 28 trial to settle claims of anticompetitive behavior and collusion an inevitability.
Intralot S.A., the lottery operator and gaming technology supplier, has lost out to William Hill, the high street bookmaker, on the tender for the lottery license in Spain's Basque region. Sources "close to the matter" told Thomson Financial on Tuesday that Intralot was one among six short-listed parties -- including Ladbrokes -- vying for the license. William Hill will work in cooperation with Finsoft Ltd., a subsidiary of Gtech Corp. specializing in software development.
Leisure & Gaming (L&G), the online gambling operator, revealed a 25 percent drop in first-quarter net-win revenues to $10.3 million from $13.8 million during the year-ago period. Gross profit fell 16 percent to $3.3 million from $3.9 million in Q1 2007. In a trading update Tuesday, L&G said that it had restructured Betshop Italia, the company's Italian subsidiary, in an effort to cut costs and raise margins. "Having restructured the operations of the company, we are confident that we can deliver sustainable profitability going forward," said Henry Birch, L&G's chief executive. The company's Italian "punti remoti" betting licensure runs through 2011.
PinXS.com, the Netherlands-based micro-payments processor, has launched a service whereby I-gamers can pay to play nominally priced, Web-based casual games. The group's solution is available in 37 languages, including Chinese, Arabic and Russian, which it said "allow[s] owners of premium content to make money from the Asian growth markets." With regard to funding, accounts range from 50 cents to $10.00. "The phone is the ideal billing mechanism for premium Web content, not least since it is so ubiquitous," said Marc Jarrett, a representative of PinXS. "Cell phone penetration in developing markets is beginning to rival those in developed ones."
Kenilworth Systems Corp., developer of Roulabette, a simulcasting solution, said Tuesday that the Chinese Patent Office has published the company's patent, "system for wagering on terminals remote from a casino." Roulabette, Kenilworth said, is a system permitting gamblers to play along from remote locations on live casino table games. Herbert Lindo, the company's chief executive, called casino-table-game simulcasts "the way of the future," adding that China -- with regard to this service -- "is the world's largest market."
Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that gaming revenue across the state of Nevada fell nearly 4 percent in February. According to figures from the Nevada Gaming Control Board, gaming win was down $1.014 billion -- a decline of 3.9 percent -- from $1.056 billion during the year-ago period. The downturn, the paper said, was enough to concern Wall Street amid talk of a global economic recession.
On the London Stock Exchange today, Playtech was up 2p, or 0.5 percent, to 435.00, PartyGaming was up 1.50p, or 6.7 percent, to 24.00 and William Hill was up 15p, or 3.9 percent, to 397.50.