eGaming Review November 2012 | Page 18

[P R O D U C T NEWS ] LAUNCHES LAUNCHES WMS Industries announced that Iowa’s Meskwaki Bingo Casino has become the first land-based operator to launch on its subsidiary Williams Interactive’s Play4Fun Network. BETGENIUS IN IMG DATA DEAL Open tender process to provide ATP and WTA tennis data Sports data and software provider Betgenius has inked an exclusive deal with IMG Media for the distribution of pricing and trading services alongside the multinational media rights and management corporation’s data on tennis’ elite tournaments, following IMG’s acquisition of a majority stake in sports data business Enetpulse. A tender has been issued for contracts on four different tiers, with the top level covering over 15,000 matches per annum across the ATP and WTA tours and the ATP Challenger Tour from 2013 to 2016. There are 12 licences available at the “gold” level (over 15,000 matches), 15 “silver” (offering 11,000 matches), 18 “bronze” (8,000 matches) and an unlimited number on the “entry level” covering 4,000 “core” matches. The cost of packages, according to a document seen by eGaming Review, ranges from US$240,000 to $495,000 per year. The tender will be distributed to more than 100 egaming operators, who have been given until the end of this month to express an interest. It is thought that many of the companies that bid for the various licences on offer will be small to medium sized operators that do not have the sufficient resources to trade the amount of matches across the tennis calendar, which is where the Betgenius services come in. Betgenius CEO Mark Locke told eGR the deal will see the firm become IMG’s exclusive B2B partner. “Alongside IMG’s data we can offer other complementary services such as front-end management, pricing services and outsourced trading.” This represents a broadening of the five-year deal agreed between Enetpulse and the sport’s two governing bodies in January this year, with deals for the “straight from the umpire’s chair” data being signed with operators including bet365, William Hill and Paddy Power. Winamax launched a freeplay poker site available to US residents, with a view to offering customers a real-money product if and when the French operator secures a US online poker licence. Aristocrat Technologies launched a freeplay online casino for Michigan’s Island Resort & Casino, having penned an online deal with the US gaming machine supplier last year. Casinos Austria brand Win2day launched a poker room for the Belgian market in partnership with Microgamingpowered Prima Networks. Betsson subsidiary Angler Gaming launched a new LatinAmerica facing online casino brand which will initially focus on the Mexican and Chilean markets . UK supermarket chain Iceland Foods announced the launch of an online bingo offering, in partnership with egaming affiliate QuickThink Media. EVOLUTION IN POKER AND MOBILE LAUNCH DOUBLE Live dealer software specialist launches ?rst poker-style game Live dealer software specialist Evolution has launched its ?rst poker-style game and a new range of mobile gaming iPad solutions including live roulette with “one major worldwide betting brand” already signed up, the company has announced. The company has extended its live casino offering with the addition of Casino Hold’em, a variant of ?ve-card Texas Hold’em, and the company’s ?rst foray into poker. As with its live roulette, blackjack and baccarat games, live Casino Hold’em is streamed in real time to players from tables at Evolution’s studios in Riga, Latvia, while games can be streamed SIGN-UPS Microgaming announced an exclusive deal to provide online casino software to UK bricks and mortar venue The Hippodrome. Mobile gambling business Probability entered into a strategic relationship with Nasdaq-listed developer Glu Mobile, which will see it develop real-money gambling games. from a live studio in an operator’s own land-based venue depending on speci?c regulatory rules. Fredrik Bjurle, Evolution’s product director, says that in the past few years Casino Hold’em has become “a hit both online and in land-based casinos worldwide”. “Having taken great care and time over the development of a truly authentic online version of the game, we are more than happy that it meets the world-class standard of our live casino games portfolio. For players joining in the live game action on their PC and laptop, this is as real and exciting as online gaming gets,” he added. Bet365 teamed up with digital wallet provider Skrill to integrate a new ‘one tap’ payment solution for customers wagering on desktop, mobile and tablet devices. 18 www.egrmagazine.com