Gambling giant GVC Holdings has extended its partnership with marketing solutions provider Optimove. 

The five-year extension will see Optimove continue to serve as enterprise CRM and player marketing vendor across all GVC brands globally. 

Optimove enables GVC’s CRM marketing operations to autonomously transform player data into actionable insights, helping to drive measurable growth. 

By harnessing Optimove’s technology suit GVC can employ smart orchestration, measurement and optimisation of highly personalised multi-channel campaigns, at scale, leading to improved customer experience and retention, and increasing lifetime value.

The extended partnership will also see GVC use Optimove’s real-time products in its marketing.

AYO.NEWS says:

In today’s hyper-competitive online gambling market, in which acquisition costs are soaring, player retention is of critical importance. Judging by the considerable partnership extension, we guess it means GVC is getting good results with Optimove. 

Staying with GVC, last month the company launched virtual sports from Inspired Entertainment across several of its brands, including Bwin, Sportingbet, and Partypoker – which is probably good timing considering we are seeing COVID-19 lockdowns return, and real-world sporting events are under threat once again.

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates. 

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2020.

US-based online casino and sports betting company, Rush Street Interactive, has reported revenue in the range of $75M to $77M for Q3 2020. 

Preliminary financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2020, which are subject to completion of the Company’s quarterly financial reporting process and the preparation of the unaudited financial statements for the quarter, show revenue to be in the range of $75 million to $77 million on a GAAP basis. 

Reflecting on the results, President of RSI, Richard Schwartz, said:

“Notably, RSI has experienced industry-leading results as evident by our being #1 in U.S. online casino revenue according to Eilers & Krejcik Gaming and the #1 operator by revenue in Pennsylvania and Illinois, the two largest population states that have legalized online gaming. 

“In fact, RSI accounted for 86% of statewide online sports betting handle in Illinois in August 2020. Furthermore, we are achieving these results with a disciplined approach to our customer acquisition and marketing costs. We look forward to continuing to innovate our offerings and to bringing more gaming enthusiasts onto the BetRivers.com and PlaySugarHouse.com platforms in the months ahead.”

On July 27, 2020, RSI entered into a business combination agreement with dMY Technology Group, Inc. (NYSE: DMYT.U, DMYT and DMYT WS). Upon the closing of the transaction, the combined company intends to change its name to Rush Street Interactive, Inc. and trade on the NYSE under the ticker symbol “RSI.”

Staying with Rush Street Interactive, at the end of August, LSE-listed iGaming developer and licensor, Gaming Realms, announced it was extending its existing partnership with the company to enable it to enter Pennsylvania. Earlier in the month, Spanish slots developer Habanero also announced a partnership with RSI, covering Latin America and the United States. 

AYO.NEWS says:

Though in the immediate post-PASPA period, it was sports betting getting all the attention stateside, the COVID-19 pandemic has helped drive a surge in demand for online casino, and Rush Street Interactive has clearly capitalised on it. 

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates. 

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2020.

Sports betting and gaming supplier BetConstruct has secured a Combined Remote Operating License for Virtual Sports from the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC). 

The new license means the company can now deliver all eight of its virtual sports games to licensed operators under white label, turnkey, or API solutions. 

BetConstruct’s Virtual Sports portfolio is growing fast, and currently includes Virtual Football Pro, Virtual Football League, Virtual Football Penalty Kicks, Horse Racing, Greyhound Racing, Virtual Bicycle, Marble Racing and Virtual Drag Racing.

The supplier says it is in the process of securing approvals for more of its products. 

AYO.NEWS says:

This is great timing for BetConstruct, as with the COVID-19 lockdowns returning across the UK, Europe and beyond, the likelihood of disruption to real-world sporting events is increasing by the day, and operators are now scrambling to expand their alternative virtual offerings. 

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates. 

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2020.

With COVID-19 lockdowns and restrictions returning to many places, the European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) has reiterated its commitment to protect consumers.

With cities and regions across Europe, from Paris and Madrid, to London and Prague, being hit with strict new COVID-19 control measures, and countries now facing the increasing likelihood of returning to full lockdowns, the EGBA has issued a call to protect gamblers during these difficult times.

Specific commitments made by the EGBA, which is supported by 15 online gambling associations, include ensuring operators only engage in responsible advertising that does not promote gambling as a solution to personal or financial problems, or reference COVID-19 related issues, and ensuring all operators use robust identity verification, and provide safer gambling tools. 

Discussing the crisis EGBA secretary general, Maarten Haijer, said:

“The reintroduction of coronavirus restrictions poses significant challenges for Europe’s society. This guidance is intended to help fellow citizens and provides an opportunity for gambling companies to demonstrate their willingness to take responsibility during these challenging times.  

“These are simple but essential measures which all gambling companies should adopt to protect their customers, step up their social responsibility efforts and ensure their advertising is conducted in an ethical and responsible way.  

“We urge all online gambling companies to adhere to them.”

AYO.NEWS says:

The only really surprising thing here is that it seems so many people, and gambling businesses, assumed the crisis was over. As we’ve said for months, it’s quite clear that this emergency isn’t going to be over any time soon. 

Given the fact that global governments have collectively decided to sacrifice the world’s economy, plunging millions into despair and poverty, decimating tax revenues and public finances, and risking complete social disintegration, it seems quite obvious that one of two things is going on.

Either the powers that be know this virus is far worse in the long-term than they are letting on (for example, it causes infertility, or lifelong cognitive impairment etc.) Or, the virus was manufactured and released deliberately to give an excuse to introduce measures that would otherwise have been unthinkable in most places. If this is the case, then we have to ask why? What event is big enough that it convinced almost every government to go along with this? 

Either way, things are going to get a lot worse before they get better, and all gambling operators should brace for a flood of draconian new rules (think Swedish-style) over the coming months. And, of course, sports betting operators would do well to continue their investment in virtual sports and esports, because it’s extremely likely we’ll see much more sports disruption.

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates. 

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2020.

Online casino games developer EGT Interactive has entered the Danish market through its partnership with Videoslots. 

Videoslots has been operating in the regulated Danish market since 2019, and is the first operator to release EGT content there, with players now able to enjoy popular titles like 20 Super Hot, Amazons’ Battle, Burning Hot, Rise of Ra, Shining Crown and many more.

Commenting on the news Managing Director of EGT Interactive, Todor Zahariev, said:

“We are extremely proud to add Denmark in our market portfolio. Our partner Videoslots is the first operator to release our great content, there. The games are already performing extremely well, exceeding our expectations. This is a huge accomplishment for both sides, and we are eager to see where this partnership will lead us.”

Earlier this month, Bulgaria-based EGT Interactive also extended its partnership with Parimatch in Belarus and Tanzania. 

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2020.

International operators like Betsson Group, LeoVegas and Kaizen Gaming lead the way in the race for the SBC Awards 2020, with multiple nominations on the shortlists unveiled today. 

Also in the running for picking up an iconic SBC Awards trophy are key suppliers and affiliates such as Sportradar, SG Digital, Oddschecker, Golden Race, Catena Media, BetConstruct, and Gambling.com Group.

With a record 650 nominations this year, the winners of all 44 SBC Awards will be announced during a ceremony broadcast live to an international audience of sports betting and igaming industry professionals on Wednesday 9 December. 

One of Betsson’s ten nominations comes in the marquee Sportsbook of the Year category, where they join LeoVegas, Kaizen Gaming, William Hill, FanDuel, STS, Danske Spil, Kindred Group, Parimatch, MansionBet and Pinnacle in a high-quality field attempting to defeat the six-time champion and 2019 winner bet365.

As well as eyeing the top sports betting prize LeoVegas, which has amassed seven nominations, will also be hoping to retain the prestigious Casino Operator of the Year title. It will again face competition from Betsson and Kaizen Gaming, with Casumo, Novibet, Hard Rock Casino, Mansion, Karamba, Wildz Casino and 2019’s Rising Star victor PlayOJO also in the running.  

Andrew McCarron, Managing Director of SBC, said:

“Given the difficulties faced this year, we have been blown away by the quality and quantity of nominations to this year’s SBC Awards. 

“With a great mix of the biggest names in the industry and some of their fastest emerging competitors on the shortlists, the judges have a lot to think about and it’ll be fascinating to see which operators win the prizes. 

“It’s a similar story in the supplier and affiliate categories, where the entries and shortlists tell the story of another year of exceptional progress for the industry.” 

Among the suppliers, Sportradar has four nominations and its Betradar division makes a further six shortlists, while BetConstruct is in the running for seven awards. They go head-to-head for the Sportsbook Supplier of the Year honour, which is also contested by Altenar, IGT, Sporting Solutions, Singular, BtoBet, Betgenius, EveryMatrix, BETB2B, Scientific Games, Pronet Gaming, Digitain and FSB.

In the gaming suppliers categories, the shortlist for the hotly-contested Casino / Slots Developer of the Year title features Stakelogic, Greentube, Playson, Red Tiger, Kalamba Games, Push Gaming, Evoplay Entertainment, Relax Gaming, Yggdrasil, Pragmatic Play, Microgaming and Inspired Entertainment.

Meanwhile, in the headline affiliate categories, Catena Media, Gambling.com Group, Oddschecker Global Media, Gaming Innovation Group and Raketech Group, all make the shortlist for both the Casino and Sports prizes. 

The winners of all 44 categories will be chosen by a panel of judges, consisting of industry leaders handpicked for their ability to identify exceptional operator performance and the potentially game-changing innovations among the entries. 

McCarron added:

“Given the large number and quality of submissions, we are planning on a shake-up of the awards for next year to better reflect the different markets in which sports betting and igaming are now flourishing. 

“This means that next year will also see a dedicated SBC Awards USA (June 2021) and an SBC Awards Latinoamérica (October 2021) to coincide with our events in those markets.”

To view the shortlists for all of the awards, please click here.

For further information about sponsorship opportunities at the SBC Awards 2020 ceremony, please contact sales@sbcgaming.com.