eGaming Review NOVEMBER 2013 | Page 3

EDITORIAL TEAM Editor Tom Washington T: [phone] E: [email protected] Senior reporter Gerard Starkey T: [phone] E: [email protected] Reporter Andy Roocroft T: [phone] E: [email protected] Reporter Liam Stoker T: [phone] E: [email protected] Head of Content, Pageant Gaming Media Alun Bowden T: [phone] E: [email protected] PRODUCTION Head of production Claudia Honerjager E: [email protected] Art editor, eGR Toni Giddings E: [email protected] Sub-editors Rachel Kurz?eld Eleanor Stanley Luke Tuchscherer COMMERCIAL Group commercial manager Ben Robinson T: [phone] E: [email protected] Commercial manager Sam Compagnoni T: [phone] E: [email protected] Publishing account manager Debbie Robson T: [phone] E: [email protected] Publishing account manager Jonathan Vintner T: [phone] E: [email protected] Group head of content Gwyn Roberts CEO Charlie Kerr Circulation manager Fay Muddle Content sales T: [phone] E: [email protected] eGaming Review is published monthly by Pageant Media, Thavies Inn House, 3-4 Holborn Circus, London, EC1N 2HA ISSN 1742-2450 Printed by The Manson Group © 2013 all rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or used without the prior permission from the publisher [E D I T O R ' S LETTER ] Here it is, the annual – and dare I say famous – eGaming Review Power 50 list. Producing the list is quite some undertaking but also a hugely enjoyable one, and yet again we have been impressed by the progress many of this sector’s operators are making. We believe this year’s list is the most comprehensive and transparent yet. With the help of our partners BDO, we collated a serious amount of data on operators’ ?nancial performance. But numbers only tell half the story, which is why the ranking is also based on a number of other criteria such as industry in?uence, geographic reach and strategic impact. These elements, while arguably more subjective, are where the real power often lies, not in the balance sheets. Looking over the 50 most powerful operators in egaming, it is immediately obvious that 2013 has been and still is a transitional year for many. It has been the year mobile ?nally lived up to the hype, the year the US ?nally opened up (a bit, anyway), and the year running a successful poker product got really, really tough. Those who have been prepared to invest in mobile technology, CRM and marketing have won out, leaving those unable to deliver software improvements lying in their wake. Indeed, a year of change has resulted in our number one spot – occupied for the past three years by bet365 – facing a concerted attack by William Hill which has invested in technology and marketing as well as being a signi?cant player in the M&A market. Bet365 meanwhile has continued to outperform the industry and is a ?erce competitor in almost every major egaming market. So did we opt for Hills’ aggressive growth strategy into European regulated markets and Australia and its impressive performance in mobile, or the consistent, fast-growing, global power player bet365? Find out where the ?nal vote went on p2851. And trust me when we say it was no easy decision. 03