TUNE IN On Monday, NetPlay TV announced the acquisition of a digital terrestrial television license to run a 24-hour Freeview channel.
The interactive television gambling company said it was the first I-gaming company to have a channel on the United Kingdom operator of free television services. Starting Jan. 8, 2009, NetPlay TV, now operating on three of the four digital television platforms in the United Kingdom, will broadcast its services including Supercasino.com and live bingo on channel 48, the company said.
NetPlay said it believes this exclusive channel will build greater customer loyalty. In a prepared statement, the company's chief executive and executive chairman, Martin Higginson, called the acquisition a major milestone and an achievement.
“Allowing our customers to interact with live presenters is a real differentiator,” Mr. Higginson added. “We firmly believe customer playing habits are changing, and as such, more and more users are now demanding a 'live' gaming experience.”
BRAND EXCHANGE Three of Harrah's Entertainment Inc.'s big-name brands -- Harrah's, Caesars and World Series of Poker -- can now be a part of Gtech Corporation's lottery games.
On Tuesday, the lottery operator signed a licensing agreement with Harrah's License Company L.L.C. to use its brands and logos for its instant, online and monitor distribution channels. The company said in a prepared statement that the games will give players the ability to win trips to any of Harrah's casinos and prizes like a Caesars V.I.P. Packages or tickets to the World Series of Poker tournaments.
“The Harrah's portfolio provides our customers unique access to the strongest brand names in gaming today,” said Ross Dalton, Gtech's senior vice president of printed products and licensed content. “We believe each of these three brands has unique player appeal, and we are confident that they will prove to be strong performing games for our customers around the world.”
RESEARCH EXTENTION Bwin Interactive Entertainment A.G. announced on Monday a five-year extension on an agreement to collaborate on research with the Division of Addictions at Cambridge Health Alliance, a Harvard Medical School teaching affiliate.
The five-year agreement calls for scientific evidence to create the safest possible online gaming environment by implementing the findings of a longitudinal study, the company said. The Harvard affiliate has been working with Bwin for the past three years developing and testing new responsible gaming initiatives.
According to a prepared statement, the scientific studies analyzed the data of over 47,000 customers during a 36-month period, which Bwin said is the largest longitudinal study of its kind worldwide. IGamingNews wrote about one of the studies in May. Click here to read the article.
“We need to understand what goes on in consumers' minds and be able to answer fundamental questions about online gaming based on scientific evidence -- and not based on speculation,” Manfred Bodner, co-cheif executive of Bwin, said in the statement. “Ultimately, we are interested in creating behavioral models capable of predicting certain outcomes. Therefore, we are working towards establishing the scientific foundation that will yield algorithms capable of identifying risk patterns associated with disordered gambling so that we can prevent them.”
EARLY-BIRD SPECIAL Conference organizers Clarion Gaming and Beacon Events have announced that attendees to the Asian i-Gaming Congress and Expo, or AiG, will be able to save $400 if registration is received by Friday, Dec. 19.
In its seventh year, the conference brings a laundry list of experts on gaming in the East together on Feb. 24-26 at the Venetian in Macau. Senior executives from a number of I-gaming companies including AsianLogic Ltd., CryptoLogic Asia Pacific and Mahjong Time will be on hand to discuss regional issues.
For more information, click here, and to register, click here.
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