MANAGING
ACT TAB, Racing & Wagering Western Australia and
Tote Tasmania have selected
Centrebet International Ltd. to manage its fixed odds wagering products, the Australian operator announced on Tuesday.
Starting in late May 2009, Centrebet will manage the group's existing 200 million Australian dollars of fixed odds racing and sports betting turnover on behalf of the group in return for a service fee paid to Centrebet, which has been progressively structured to target growth, Centrebet said in a statement.
Centrebet said it is forecasting significant growth in the fixed odds betting market share during the term of the three-and-a-half year agreement.
“The opportunity to manage $200 million in TAB fixed odds betting turnover is exciting, however the real value for Centrebet is in sharing the growth in revenue that our expanded event coverage and new products due for release in 2009 will bring,” said Con Kafataris, managing director of Centrebet, in a statement.
MOBILE MADNESS
A newly formed partnership between Million-2-1, an International Games Technology-owned mobile solutions provider, and Rank Group will target the United Kingdom with IGT and Barcrest Group mobile games.
Through Blue Square and Mecca, Rank customers will be able to access “Hi-5,” “Elvis Top 20” and “Ooh Aah Dracula” sometime in February, according to Million-2-1. Additionally, plans to expand the games portfolio with Barcrest Group's “Rainbow Riches” and IGT titles “Cleopatra,” “Monopoly” and “Cluedo” are in the works, the company said.
“Players will be familiar with many of these games from pubs, arcades, casinos, bingo clubs, betting shops and online casinos,” said Chris Sheffield, director and general manager of Million-2-1, in a prepared statement. “Bringing them to the mobile platform will make them so much more convenient -- customers can participate wherever they are in the U.K., whenever they want to. We are sure they will prove to be a massive success.”
LAUNCHING
Gaming Media Group's BingoJoy.com showed off its new look on Wednesday. The site underwent a complete overhaul in order to attract both casual and regular bingo players, said a company statement.
The Web site now features a biweekly bingo league as well as a blog broadcasting the site's latest news. In addition, top players can be a part of its new V.I.P. club “Happy & Glorious.” BingoJoy said the new club also joined forces with Voucherline Ltd. to offer its players store vouchers to many United Kingdom high-street brands.
“We will soon be able to offer our players bingo bets and the chance to play mini-slot games in the new bingo game window application,” said Helen Rooney, BingoJoy's bingo room manager, in a statement. “We are also very excited about the recent launch of our new progressive jackpot game.”
VIRTUAL RACING
The racecourse just became a bit smaller with Spin3's new virtual horse racing game, where players rely on skill to pick a winner in a variety of racing scenarios, all of which take place on players' mobiles.
“Royal Derby” allows players to toy with a the size of the horse and jockey to the weather conditions on the track. According to the mobile solutions provider, no two races are ever the same.
“Horse racing is a hugely popular sport, with a strong following in the U.K. and around the world,” said Matti Zinder, head of Spin3, in a statement. “Royal Derby replicates the buzz and challenge of picking a winner at the races and is sure to be a winning mobile gambling game.”
The game also offers in-game branding options for clients to insert logos within the game along the race track’s advertising banner.
Nambling Notes is .