Virtual sports specialist Kiron is supplying Kindred Group subsidiary Unibet. 

Kiron’s virtual horse and greyhound racing products have gone live on Unibet’s main racing page, via the company’s partnership with ATR, in a move that will significantly expand Kiron’s reach in core European markets. 

Commenting on the news Head of Global Racing at Kindred Group, Ben Colley, said:

“Kiron’s horse and dog racing content is already proving to be a big success both with our existing customers and also in attracting new audiences to our platform.

“The speed at which we have been able to integrate its games has allowed us to quickly meet the fast-growing demand for virtual content and significantly enhance the range of products we offer.”

While co-CEO of Kiron, Steven Spartinos, added:

“Through this partnership we have not only added another major brand to our client base but also assumed a prominent position on its platform under the racing tab, giving testament to the developing status of virtual content among the wider sportsbook offering.

“We are pleased to provide Unibet with a range of virtual horse and dog racing events that will boost customer engagement through this crucial time, offering fast-paced, life-like betting experiences available around the clock.”

AYO.NEWS says:

Like other virtual sports suppliers, South Africa-based Kiron has found its products in high demand during the COVID-19 crisis, and that looks set to continue for a while yet. Last week we reported Kiron had grown its Italian reach through an agreement with iGaming provider Microgame. 

‘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. 

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Swedish betting operator ATG has terminated its sponsorship and rights agreement with Hockeyettan ice hockey league after just 1 year. 

Originally intended to be a 3-year partnership, according to Katarina Widman, Chief Commercial Officer at ATG the collaboration with the hockey league had not worked out as planned, leading to the decision to terminate it early. 

The rights agreement had stipulated that all the league’s clubs must deliver television broadcasts of their games, and some failed to do so due to ongoing disputes. According to Widman, this caused a situation that made it difficult for for ATG to work with the league.

AYO.NEWS says:

It’s always a little awkward when agreements like this are terminated early, but we’re sure ATG must have felt it had no other choice. As for the league, we’re sure the clubs that did meet their obligations will be left more than a little frustrated with those that didn’t. 

Staying with ATG, in March we reported the operator had avoided a fine after it notified the Swedish Gaming Inspectorate that it had inadvertently breached the Gaming Act. 

‘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. 

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South Korea’s 2020 Hana1Q K League 1 will be broadcast live across a record number of territories from tomorrow, 8 May, when the season kicks off. 

Sportradar is handling rights, after being appointed international broadcast rights distributor by the K League in December 2019. 

Television viewers in 17 countries, including Australia (Optus), Germany (Sportdigital), Hong Kong (TVB), and Malaysia & Brunei (ASTRO) will be able to watch matches live, with more territories still in negotiation. According to Sportradar, it is still in discussions with several broadcasters in Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, the USA, and Brazil. 

Sportdigital Fussball has acquired broadcasting rights for Germany, Austria and Switzerland, and will be showing all matches starting from the season opener tomorrow. Optus Sports will be broadcasting two K League 1 matches per round in Australia, while Serbia-based Arena TV Sports will be serving seven countries in the Balkans.

In addition to TV broadcasts, online platforms including Copa90 (UK) and Laola.tv (Austria) will be live streaming across Europe and the rest of the world, excluding Korea.

Discussing the news Sales Directors, Audiovisual at Sportradar, Dylan Chuan, said:

“Live sport is an integral part of daily life for many people around the world, especially in these difficult and unique times. With the K League season kicking off on Friday, we are delighted to have worked with our partners – media companies, broadcasters and OTT platforms to deliver great entertainment and pulsating football action to fans across the globe.”

This season K League will benefit from a new media centre, and will use a cloud server and in-house Off-Tube system for the 54 main matches scheduled to be broadcast overseas. International satellite broadcasts will also feature English commentary for the first time.

Tomorrow’s opening match between Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors and Suwon Samsung Bluewings will also be streamed live on both Twitter and YouTube. 

AYO.NEWS says:

The commencement of the K League season following the relaxing of social distancing regulations in South Korea will come as welcome news for sports betting operators everywhere, who are still struggling to provide sports betting opportunities for customers. 

Broadcasting matches so widely, and streaming the opening match on Twitter and YouTube, as well as providing English-language commentary is a shrewd move too, and likely to significantly boost the international popularity of the league in the longer term.

With the Bundesliga also set to kick-off again on 15 May, everyone will be hoping the much predicted second wave of COVID-19 doesn’t materialise and trigger new lockdowns. 

‘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. 

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Wednesday’s decision by the German government to allow Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga to host football games behind closed doors from the middle of May is putting the spotlight on the German sports betting industry.

After the market almost come to a complete standstill in the past few weeks due to the heavy restrictions in most countries across the world, the local betting community is now set for a new boost – especially since the DFL (Deutsche Fußball Liga; German Football League association) has already announced that Bundesliga will be officially returning on May 15th. 

It’s a decision that is very likely to have a strong impact on the current betting offers on the German market. While many bookmakers have recently been focusing on e-sports, the attention will now switch back to football betting. “It’s highly possible that we will soon be seeing very attractive welcome offers from the bookmakers. All companies have been struggling and are now eager to get their business back on track again as fast as possible”, says sports betting expert Thomas Hahn from the German bookmaker bonus comparison portal MyWettbonus.de.

The current bonus offers – called Sportwetten Bonus in German – for new customers range from €10 free bets up to €250 deposit bonus offers. “A typical offer from many companies is a classic €100 deposit bonus with a factor of 100% that has to be converted 5 to 10 times”, Hahn explains. The expert anticipates some bookies will raise their offers over the upcoming weeks. “That’s at least what we have seen in the past when the Bundesliga season or the Champions League kicked off.”

Hahn also believes that existing clients will be offered attractive reload bonuses. “An example is the bookmaker Interwetten. From time to time they offer reload bonuses worth up to 400 Euros. We haven’t seen such an offer yet but I’m sure that some companies will announce special bonuses in the upcoming days”, Hahn continues. 

Meanwhile, the bookmakers already have actualized their odds for the potential outcome of this year’s Bundesliga season. German market leader Tipico sees Bayern Munich as the most likely champion, followed by Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig.

There’s some welcome news for bookies as the German football season looks set to resume this month, after being given the green light by the government. 

If the planned resumption goes ahead, it means the Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga will be the first major European leagues to go live again since most football across the continent was suspended in March as the COVID-19 crisis took hold. 

Though the specific dates haven’t been confirmed by the German Football League (DFL) yet, it is expected to be either 15 or 22 May. 

Under current DFL plans, only 300 people will be allowed in stadiums, and extensive virus testing will continue in order to minimise risks to players and staff. So far, out of around 1,700 tests just 10 positives have been declared. 

Germany is currently in the process of easing its lockdown, allowing schools and shops to re-open in a controlled way, with social distancing measures remaining in place. In total Germany has seen around 7,000 deaths in this first wave of COVID-19. 

AYO.NEWS says:

So far things are going exactly as we predicted, with individual countries starting to ease lockdown restrictions, and some sporting events slated to return, albeit without live spectators. 

Of course, right now it is critical to realise we are not in the clear. Numerous experts have warned that a second wave is almost certain to come over the next few months, and it will very likely be much bigger and of a different strain of the virus. In the last few days the World Health Organisation (WHO) has explicitly warned that countries should be prepared for more lockdowns as more waves hit. 

On the flip side, as we’ve previously discussed, if lockdowns are lifted and there are no new waves, questions will undoubtedly arise as to whether the lockdowns were even needed in the first place – especially now that evidence suggests the virus was circulating in Europe as early as December 2019, without causing any undue concern. In that case many will be looking to hold politicians and public officials accountable for the destruction of their businesses and livelihoods. 

So, although the tentative return of German football is undoubtedly welcome news for the embattled sports betting industry, it is far too early to count our chickens. Fingers crossed…

‘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. 

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UK-based gambling giant GVC is strengthening its existing partnership with LeanConvert, the customer conversion and campaign optimisation specialist. 

After working with LeanConvert for a couple of years, during which time the optimisation company became a key stakeholder in GVC’s post-Ladbrokes Coral acquisition marketing strategy, the firms will now enhance cooperation.

Specifically, LeanConvert will collaborate with GVC’s central product team, supporting onsite optimisation, customer personalisation and variance testing for all core brands, while specialists will also be deployed to Roar Digital, the joint GVC-MGM Resorts US wagering venture. 

Discussing the news Head of Customer Experience for GVC Holdings, Stefan Kalcher, said:

“We’ve seen that LeanConvert’s approach to actionable testing is indisputable proof in creating a better customer experience and improved conversion across the board. They have an extremely effective and contagious culture of experimentation that we’re now beginning to propagate and enable internally, with their guidance.”

While LeanConvert Founder and Managing Director, Tim Axon, added:

“In working together, we’ve developed the LeanConvert Framework, optimisation toolkit and workflow to deliver within GVC’s existing teams. While our managed service delivers immediate results and ROI, the in-housing programme we’re building with GVC will support them in setting the stage for scalable growth at an unparalleled velocity.”

LeanConvert was founded by former Oracle EMEA and Maxymiser executive Tim Axon in 2016, and uses customer-centric modelling combined with value-led testing, to help large digital businesses understand their customers. 

The company is also partnered with Adobe Target, Boxever, ContentsSquare, dynamic yield, Google Partners, monetate, Optimizely, and Oracle Maxymiser. 

AYO.NEWS says:

There are plenty of companies out there making bold claims about conversion and optimisation, but GVC’s decision to extend and strengthen its partnership with LeanConvert seems to be a pretty big vote of confidence, and suggests they are doing something that really works. 

Staying with GVC, yesterday we reported that the group’s board of directors and members of its executive committee had agreed to take a 20% salary cut and forfeit bonuses, in response to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. 

Meanwhile, in the United States, GVC’s partner MGM Resorts has thanked the support shown by many of its well-known resident entertainment partners during the crisis. With casinos closed due to the pandemic, many of the celebrities have made significant donations to the MGM Resorts Employee Emergency Grant Fund. 

‘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