WEBMASTER NEWS
MINTBET PARTNERS WITH INCOME ACCESS
MINTBET, THE ONLINE SPORTS
betting and casino brand operated
by McBride Racing Ltd, the Irish-
headquartered igaming and retail betting
operator, has announced a partnership
with Paysafe’s marketing technology and
services provider Income Access.
Under the deal, the new MintBet affiliate
programme, due soon, will i ntegrate with
the Income Access Network for the
launch of its new affiliate programme.
Debuted earlier in 2017, MintBet
holds licences in the Republic of Ireland
and the UK, and offers online wagering
opportunities on a wide range of sports
markets. Its platform is provided by
FSB Tech and it offers in-play as well
as slots and live dealer casino games.
As part of MintBet’s strategy to expand
its presence in the UK market in 2018,
the brand will invest in growing its affiliate
marketing channel.
Once launched, the network will connect
the programme to more than 25,000
gaming affiliates, allowing MintBet to
rapidly recruit affiliate partners and grow
the programme post-launch.
GAMBLING ADDS €556M TO MALTA ECONOMY IN H1
THE MALTA GAMING AUTHORITY
(MGA) has revealed that gaming added
more than €556m (£490m/$655m) to
the domestic economy in the six months
to 30 June.
This is up 10% on the previous year
and represents 12% of the total value added
of the Maltese economy in the first half, up
from 11.8% last year.
Gaming tax revenue reached €29m in
the opening six months of 2017, equal to
5.5% of tax indirect tax intake, and the
number of gambling companies licensed in
the Maltese jurisdiction at the end of the
period increased by 6% on December 2016.
In addition, the MGA said Maltese
gambling is some way ahead of forecasts
in terms of jobs created.
Initial estimates had set this figure in
excess of 6,400 full-time equivalent jobs
by June 2017, but an MGA survey
carried out towards the end of 2016 found
that when taking into account indirect
employment, total employment in the
gaming sector is approximately 9,000
full-time equivalent jobs.
The MGA also said it expects
the national market to continue to grow
“robustly” throughout 2018 and the
remainder of 2017.
STRIDE REVEALS LOSSES, DETAILS NEW INVESTMENT
STRIDE GAMING HAS REPORTED
a sharp increase in losses for the year
ended 31 August, and also confirmed
the acquisition of a 51% stake in
Passion Gaming.
Net gaming revenue in the full year
amounted to £89.9m (€101m/$119m),
up 18% on the £76.4m generated in the
previous year, on a pro forma basis.
Adjusted earnings before interest, tax,
depreciation and amortisation increased
24% year-on-year to £20.3m, and adjusted
earnings climbed 29% to £18.5m.
However, Stride Gaming recorded
a loss of £26.7m, compared to profit
before tax of £194,000 last year, with
basic loss per share at 38.1 pence.
Eitan Boyd, chief executive of
Stride Gaming, said: “2017 has been
a year of significant progress for Stride
Gaming during which the group has
delivered outstanding growth in its core
real-money gaming business.
“This has been driven by our scale
and proprietary platform, as well as the
highly successful acquisitions of 8Ball,
Netboost Media and the Tarco Assets
in August 2016.”
Stride also announced it had acquired
a 51% stake in Passion Gaming, the
company behind RummyPassion.com,
and focused on the Indian skills
gaming market, for a cash consideration
of $3.75m (£2.81m).
“We have been monitoring the Indian
market for some time as we see strong
dynamics in the current environment as
well as long-term growth potential,”
Boyd said.
XLMEDIA SET TO SURPASS EXPECTATIONS AFTER STRONG Q3
XLMEDIA HAS SAID that after it
continued to “trade strongly” in the
third quarter, it is on course to surpass
full-year financial expectations.
In a trading update published on
21 November, XLMedia said it
expected adjusted earnings before
interest, tax, depreciation (EBITDA)
for the 12 months through to
31 December to be “materially ahead
of expectations”.
XLMedia also said profit before tax
should come in at a higher-than-expected
amount, although not to the same
degree as adjusted EBITDA.
In a statement, XLMedia added:
“Since the half-year end we have
continued to see strong organic
growth across the group, particularly
in the publishing division, which
has led us to achieve better-than-
expected direct margins in
both segments.
“As well as the number of visitors
to our websites increasing we have
seen improved conversion rates and
increased revenues from revenue
share arrangements from users we
referred to customers both this year
and before.”
The company added: “We have
been very pleased with the acquisitions
that we have made in 2017 and see
North America as a major opportunity
for the group to grow in various
verticals, such as financial services,
cyber security, mobile apps and,
as markets increasingly regulate,
online gambling.”
iGB Affiliate Issue 66 DEC 2017/JAN 2018
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