(PRESS RELEASE) -- Last year NetEnt AB (publ), leading provider of digital gaming solutions, signed an agreement with William Hill, one of the world's largest betting and gaming companies, to supply casino games to its licensed betting shops in the U.K. After a successful integration process, the first game from a selection of NetEnt’s most popular games to be launched is now available to players in William Hill’s retail network.
NetEnt is proud to announce a milestone for its business, as its popular online casino games are for the first time available in retail shops in the U.K. In close collaboration with William Hill, NetEnt’s award-winning games have been redesigned to apply to the demands of the retail customer. Entering land-based casino entertainment is in line with the Company’s multichannel strategy, providing operators with casino solutions for different channels, as demanded by their players. The first game, Starburst, is being launched gradually over the next few weeks.
Per Eriksson, President and CEO of NetEnt, says, “We provide leading-edge digital casino solutions and we are excited to make our thrilling games available to William Hill’s land-based players for the first time ever. William Hill is the largest betting and gaming operator in the U.K. and this partnership will allow us to maximize distribution in their major channels such as retail, desktop and mobile."
Per Eriksson continues, “Although the online casino market has shown steady double-digit growth in the past five years, online penetration is still very low. Today, only five percent of the global casino market is online; the rest comes from traditional, land-based gaming. Over time, we see interesting growth opportunities in the retail channel and our multi-channel strategy will drive increased convergence between online and offline gaming.”
Digitalization and convergence is one of the mega trends in retail globally, with a growing number of land-based B2C retailers offering e-commerce. Online consumption is growing at a fast pace and the trend is set to continue. Increased broadband penetration and more sophisticated mobile devices with internet access support this development. The gaming industry shows a similar pattern with increasing convergence between land-based gaming and online gaming.