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NEWS IN BRIEF
Caesars to spin off its online arm
ULTIMATE POKER TAKES FIRST REAL-MONEY US BET
Station Casinos subsidiary is ?rst operator to offer legal online poker in US
Ultimate Poker, an interactive
subsidiary of Las Vegas-based Station Casinos, became the ?rst operator to launch a legal online gambling site in the US when its site went live in May. Ultimate Poker CEO Tobin Prior (pictured with executive team, second from left) told eGaming Review this was a “very historic moment for poker players in America, for Nevada and for us”. “It’s been a long time coming,” he said. “After Black Friday it became clear this space was going to be regulated and we started looking at it seriously and have taken a systematic approach.” Since becoming one of the ?rst operators to obtain a licence from Nevada’s Gaming Commission in October 2012, parent company Fertitta Interactive has undergone a lengthy
technology approval process with the state’s independent labs. Following the launch, players from anywhere in the world will be able to register and deposit on the Ultimate Poker site, however they will only be able to play poker for realmoney when present in Nevada. In recent months Fertitta Interactive has signed a number of deals in preparation for its real-money launch. It signed up professional player Antonio Esfandiari as its brand ambassador, agreed a deal with CAMS for geolocation, player age veri?cation and payment processing services, and signed an affiliate marketing deal with Income Access. “It is the end of a lot of hard work and for people here it’s the beginning of a new era,” Prior said. “We like to think of it as the day that trust returns to online gambling in the US. Now you can visit a site and be fully certain that your money is safe and that you’re dealing with people you trust.”
Caesars Interactive Entertainment (CIE) will be spun off into a separate company only part-owned by the casino group in a bid to reduce its long-term debt. The move will see Caesars Entertainment receive a combined US$500m, rising to a potential $1.2bn, in investment from Apollo Management and TPG Capital. The two private equity firms will also be partowners of the new entity, as the casino group looks to reduce its $20bn debt. The new division, Caesars Growth Partners, will include CIE, the Planet Hollywood chain and the planned Horseshoe casino in Baltimore.
Gala Coral poker brands join iPoker top tier
DELAWARE CHOOSES SCIGAMES, 888, WILLIAMS INTERACTIVE FOR EGAMING
Selection ends quick-?re RFP process – launch date set for end of 2013
The Delaware Lottery has selected a joint
Gala Coral moved both its poker skins to the top tier of Playtech’s iPoker network on 1 May. Coral Poker and Gala Casino Poker both moved onto the network last year following the parent company’s 10-year licensing deal with the Londonlisted software provider, signed in 2011. The two skins join the likes of bet365 and TitanPoker on the top tier, sharing ringfenced liquidity with a select number of poker operators across certain cash tables.
Spielo G2 extends Svenska Spel poker deal
bid by Scienti?c Games, 888 and Williams Interactive to provide it with online gambling services. Scienti?c Games, the current supplier of Delaware’s retail lottery products, partnered with 888 and Williams Interactive for the bid, which will supply a poker platform and casino content respectively. A source at one of the successful bidders con?rmed the joint entity will now aim to launch an online gaming site in the state by the end of the year. The Request for Proposals (RFP) was announced in February, giving interested
parties just over a month to submit their bids. Other applicants included PokerStars parent company Rational Group, IGT, Amaya Gaming and Bally Technologies. The addition of poker and casino products to Scienti?c Games’ core lottery software will be aided by a deal struck by Williams Interactive parent company WMS Gaming and 888 earlier this year. The deal sees WMS able to offer 888’s online poker product to land-based casinos on a freeplay basis and for real-money where legal.
Svenska Spel will continue to use Spielo G2’s poker product for four more years, after the two parties extended their agreement. The monopoly operator has used software from Spielo G2 subsidiary Boss Media since 2006, and has the option to extend the new four-year deal for a further four years. The extension of the deal will allow Spielo International to “maintain a key stronghold in the Nordic countries”, according to CEO Walter Bugno.
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