Jonker’s departure comes on mutual terms at a time when William Hill’s UK and European units are due to be merged with 888 Holdings – completing the £2.2bn divestment agreed by Caesars Entertainment and 888 last month.

“I feel comfortable stepping aside for new management to prepare for the next chapter for William Hill International,” commented Jonker on his departure.

Set to assume the responsibilities of Jonker’s role as international MD on a short-term basis is group COO Stephen Parry.

Having joined William Hill in 2019 as an executive hire of group CEO Ulrik Bengtsson, Jonker – former MD at Betsson Group – was responsible for spearheading the firm’s recovery following successive year multi-million-pound losses.

Furthermore, Jonker was a key stakeholder in the former FTSE firm’s acquisition and integration of Mr Green for £250m undertaken during 2019 – a deal that saw William Hill establish its International Division across regulated European markets.

Bengtsson remarked: “I would like to thank Patrick for his leadership of the William Hill International team over the last two and a half years, and wish him the best of luck in his next challenge.

“This transaction is a testament to the progress William Hill has made over the last two years, our unrelenting focus on customer, team and execution and, most importantly, the dedication and commitment of William Hill colleagues.”

The deal is expected to deliver “significant operating efficiencies”, including pre-tax cost synergies of at least £100m per year, which 888 says will lead to improved profit margins.

The post William Hill confirms departure of international MD Patrick Jonker appeared first on CasinoBeats.

Promising to go beyond the limitations of other casinos in offering the fairest experience possible, using the decentralised nature of the blockchain and fate channels, FunFair’s proprietary version of generalised state channel technology, all under the ‘Famous for Fairness’ tagline.

Further detailing the new entity’s offering, FunFair stated in a media release that “player protection and provable fairness are guaranteed at CasinoFair.

“It will never hold custody of player funds, with all gaming session funds held in escrow and distributed immediately to the player and house when the game ends, while its FairChecker feature ensures provably fair gameplay, preventing either party from tampering with the outcome.”

CasinoFair will initially be launched to a limited number of markets, and run by TTM BV, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the FunFair group.

This has been done as a means to expedite the platform’s commercial and marketing learnings, therefore ensuring a better product for future external partners.

Jez San, founder of FunFair, stated: “FunFair continue to lead the way in delivering a viable, quality blockchain casino with the launch of CasinoFair on our first-gen platform.

“Building our platform on blockchain technology allows us to deliver the levels of security and fairness that players demand, going beyond what is currently understood as provably fair, and CasinoFair will be the first of many FunFair partners changing the face of casino gaming for the better.

“With additional games, increased functionality and usability in the FunFair pipeline, CasinoFair will only get bigger and better, as we evolve from offering a service to the crypto community to disrupting the gaming mass market.”

Users accessing CasinoFair are to use fun tokens to play a growing range of premium games built on the blockchain, directly funded from their crypto wallet.

The licensed casino, it is stated, “will be the first blockchain casino to offer a wide range of fun, fast and fair games,” thanks to the platform’s fate channel technology that helps overcome some of the scaling limitations of existing blockchains.

Amongst the games included on the new offering are FunFair’s latest titles Fate of Thrones and FunDice, along with popular casino games such as European Roulette and Blackjack.

The post FunFair Technologies launches “first and only truly fair casino experience” appeared first on CasinoBeats.

Malta headquartered Relax, who unveiled plans to enter boxing and mixed martial arts as part of its first branded content agreement last week, adds another firm to its operator portfolio after “signing more than 50 agreements in a matter of months,” with its suite of content containing in excess of 570 titles.

Daniel Eskola, CEO of Relax Gaming, commented: “Interwetten is a leading operator in Germany, Austria and beyond, and we are delighted to be bringing our full suite of proprietary and partner content to its players.

“We’re confident that its players will enjoy playing our games time and time again and are looking forward to realising this partnership’s full potential.”

As part of the link-up the provider’s range of in-house content, including table games and video slots such as Dragon’s Awakening, and block breaking title Temple Tumble, will be made available to the operator as part of the agreement.

Furthermore, Interwetten will also have access to content from Relax Gaming’s growing portfolio of Silver Bullet and Powered By partners.

Mario Bilic, head of casino at Interwetten, added: “Relax Gaming’s products might be new, but they’re making the kind of waves that make us confident that they’ll add a positive new dimension to our casino offering.

“The groundbreaking Silver Bullet partner program provides us with fantastic ease of access to an abundance of innovative titles from Relax Gaming’s partner studios, which we are excited to be introducing to our players.”

Last week casino content developer Pragmatic Play unveiled plans to increase the distribution of its live casino offering, after sealing what it describes as a “landmark” agreement alongside Interwetten.

Under the terms of the deal the former is to provide Interwetten customers with its live casino suite, broadcast “using the latest technology from a state-of-the-art, newly constructed studio”.

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£247,000

Swedish gaming regulator Spelinspektionen has taken further action for violations of self-exclusion rules, with AG Communications the latest to fall foul within the Scandinavian nation.

Implementing its national register, titled Spelpaus.se, when the new gaming act came into force on the first day of 2019, it became mandatory that all gaming companies with a Swedish license join the national self-shutdown scheme.

Placing strong consumer protection as an integral part of the new regulation, individuals who join Spelpaus turn off from all licensed games in the country that require registration, with organisations also unable to send direct mail to those who have turned off.

The Spelinspektionen details that it was contacted by individuals who had been able to play on AG Communications brands, despite having registered for self-exclusion, which 30,000 chose to do during the period to April 1.

Initiating an investigation, it was found that AG Communications, which provides games via its flagship Karamba casino as well as 12 other brands, was guilty of not having a functioning connection with Spelpaus, and received a penalty fee of SEK 3m (£247,000) as well as a warning into future conduct.

2022

Betting and gaming operator group GVC Holdings has vowed to introduce a new wave of safer gambling initiatives, building upon its Changing for the Bettor campaign introduced earlier in the year.   

Striving to debut further initiatives as it tackles “the issues of gambling related harm head-on,” the group has outlined a four point plan to drive efforts further still.

Firstly a commitment to invest one per cent of gross revenue to research, education and treatment by 2022 is detailed, with GVC to also establish a new independent trust, with the aim of making charitable contributions to fund treatment of problem gambling.

Stating that Manchester’s Leon House has been targeted as the first preferred recipient, the group has also vowed to help customers struggling with gambling, by introducing GamBan software free to any individual showing signs of problematic play.

Furthermore, GVC has also committed to unilaterally ending all football shirt sponsorship deals with UK teams and banning perimeter board advertising at football grounds, “to allow sporting fans to watch their favourite teams without seeing any incentives to bet”.

€79.3m

Evolution Gaming is aiming to leverage 2018 investments to help drive a year of significant growth, as the company sticks to a previously announced target of expanding at a faster rate than the total European live casino market.

Stressing that “live casino has grown strongly in recent years and is expected to continue to be among the fastest-growing gaming segments in the coming years,” the company has seen revenue for this year’s first quarter climb to €79.3m, a 54 per cent increase from €51.6m.

Seeing EBITDA rise to a 64 per cent increase to €35.9m (€22m), Evolution has also praised a roll-out of a record number of titles, particularly Monopoly live which has “been off to a historically strong start both in terms of player counts and gaming revenues,” and is quickly becoming one of its main attractions.

Furthermore, amongst the significant events of the quarter, Evolution has seen several customers go live during the quarter, namely DraftKings in the USA, Canada’s Lotoquebec and the Swedish duo of, Svenska Spel and ATG, as profit for the period soared 73 per cent to €28.6m (€16.5m).

£50,000

Isle of Man-based casino software developer Microgaming is celebrating a year since its PlayItForward initiative launched a dedicated space for employees to nominate and vote for worthy causes.

Resulting in excess of £50,000 being raised in charitable donations, the organisations corporate social responsibility programme, which is in its fifth year, continues to support communities in areas such as health, charity, education and sport.

In April last year the firm unveiled its employee-driven charitable voting scheme, aimed at driving engagement with the programme, which has attracted over 4,000 votes to date.

The post Changing for the Bettor, Microgaming and Karamba: The week in numbers appeared first on CasinoBeats.

Strengthening its international footprint further still as a result of the new online casino comparison website tailored for the Canadian market, it becomes the second launch undertaken by the firm this week.

CasinoFever is set to provide Canadian users with a comprehensive guide to the online casino world, striving to offer reliable product, operator and bonus reviews, as well as useful tips and news related to the online casino world.

Michael Holmberg, chief executive officer of Raketech, said of the latest launch: “The launch of CasinoFever.ca further establishes Raketech’s strategy to expand into North America, a continent where we are currently developing a handful of sites that see increasing traffic trends.

“CasinoFever.ca is one of those sites and has already converted its first ever user into a new casino player at one of our partners.”

The new site has been designed by the team behind the successful CasinoFeber.se product, which Raketech states “has grown considerably in short space of time to become one of Sweden’s most popular casino comparison sites”.

CasinoFever is to run on the same platform, and will be continually improved to help guide Canadian players to the best available online casinos.

Holmberg added: “I am happy to witness our beneficial partnership model with CasinoFeber.se – one of Sweden’s most successful casino products in recent times – successfully enter an overseas market in the form of CasinoFever.ca.

“This is a stamp of quality for our operational model, that offers an opportunity for entrepreneurs to join forces with Raketech post-acquisition and grow the business together.”

Earlier in the week Raketech launched Rapidi.com, a new consumer-facing online casino product currently available to players across Sweden and Finland, with other European territories having also been earmarked for launch in the near future.

The post Raketech takes CasinoFever to Canadian market appeared first on CasinoBeats.

What has been less prominent in the headlines has been the development of the country’s online casino industry, and the suppliers making waves there too. And they’re not all European. Sydney-based Lightning Box have been actively involved in the US land-based and social casino scene for years now, but has recently made a successful transition to online RMG.

CasinoBeats caught up with co-founder and CPO David Little to discuss the Australian company’s unsung success story and how the market is shaping up state-side.

CasinoBeats: You have a long association with the United States, could you fill us in on the background?

David Little: Lightning Box has been active in the US. since our inception in 2004. My co-founder Peter Causley and I know the land-based market very well from our days at Aristocrat and IGT.

Our experiences encouraged us to start developing our own games for those players, and we have enjoyed a productive collaboration with land-based companies like IGT in our early years, and then Incredible Technologies and Everi more recently.

“A mixture of the old and new is always important”

From there, it was a hop, skip, and a jump to social casino. We cemented our position in that sector with a deal with Penn Interactive last year and we also work with High5, who are genuine pioneers in the social space. Online RMG is a natural progression too, particularly after our success in Europe, and puts us on another level as one of the few truly omni-channel suppliers in the US.

CB: Your games have been live in New Jersey since the turn of the year. How have the first six months gone in that market from your perspective?

DL: Very well, I’m pleased to say. We had existing old flash games in the market since NJ opened via Amaya. Our launch of new games was an extension of our existing deal with SG Digital. Their reach got us in front of lots of players early on and they enjoy our games.

Some of our hits, including Chilli Gold, Astro Cat and Panda Pow have gone down particularly well in New Jersey online casinos including Golden Nugget, Borgata, Caesars, Betfair, Mohegan Sun, Resorts Casino and SugarHouse. Part of the reason for that, I’m sure, is their existing success in land based. Players are familiar with the games and are happy to try them now they’re online.

I think that trust is something to bear in mind for operators looking to put together a portfolio. A mixture of the old and new is always important, but you can’t beat content that has proven itself time and time again. 

You’ll find our US land-based games not only in Atlantic City, but Nevada, California and other native and commercial casinos across the USA as well. To date we have 13 games live in New Jersey with more to come over the next six months.

“One of the exciting areas of potential is tribal”

CB: Where next for the market in general and Lightning Box in particular?

DL: New states are either taking the plunge or looking to do so shortly, so I’m sure there will be obvious opportunities coming our way in the coming months. But for me, one of the exciting areas of potential is tribal.

In many states the tribes have been running successful land-based operations for years now. Like the rest of us, however, they are susceptible to both the economy and changing consumer habits. Many have ageing player bases whom they need to replace. With younger generations embracing new technologies it makes sense for them to do so too.

They have a great opportunity with in-venue WiFi or on the reservations to embrace online gaming. Lotteries are in a similar position. We recently did a deal to supply Lotto Quebec with our games over the border in Canada.

Their southern cousins could attract new audiences by doing something similar. When that casino content has already been validated in land-based and social, as Lightning Box’s has, they could earn themselves a very quick win.

The post Lightning Box – Proven <br> content key in US success appeared first on CasinoBeats.

Furthermore, the company has also targeted further growth across the United States, where a new studio is to be constructed in Pennsylvania, as second quarter revenue of €85.7m (£76.8m), up 45 per cent from €59.3m (£53.1m), helped its January to June performance reach €165m (£147.9m), 49 per cent up from €110.8 (£99.3m).

As the demand for live casino continues to grow, partly due to several game launches,and the number of bet spots from end users, the positive performance chiefly derives from increased commission income from existing and new customers.

Martin Carlesund, Evolution CEO, said of the performance: “Evolution’s strong development continues, and we can report continued high growth and further improved margin in the second quarter. 

“2019 is a year of product and innovation, and during the period, we have launched all this year’s new games. The response has been instant, and we are overwhelmed by the positive reception among both players and operators. 

“Our aim in the development has been to create games that attract new player types and to expand the live vertical into new segments, and so far, we are very happy with the outcome. All games, from the new titles within the game show category to the dice games, find their audiences and we see a significant increase in the number of players. 

“The new games are not as staff intensive as the traditional table games, which in combination with a generally high efficiency in all studios contribute to the margin development.

“The extended portfolio also contributes to the revenue growth, but it is important to note that most of our revenues continue to derive from our core games and that the new games are still in an early stage post-launch. 

“However, all new titles contribute to a generally higher interest in live casino and we believe that the live vertical will continue to grow its share of the total online casino market. When the live vertical grows, we take market shares – as do our customers with access to the new games.”

As profit for the second quarter soared 20.1 per cent to €34.5m (£30.9m), helping to nudge its half year figure to a 36.7 per cent increase to reach €63.1m (£56.5m), Carlesund went on to address future plans: “Going forward, we will continue to invest in the development of both additional game shows and other innovative product types, as well as table games to meet the overall demand for live. 

“We also continue to invest in our studios. During the quarter, we have transferred the first tables to the new Malta studio, while also expanding the studio in Georgia. In addition, we have initiated a doubling of the capacity in New Jersey. 

“We will also strengthen our presence in the US further and have started the planning for the construction of a studio in Pennsylvania. All in all, investments for the 2019 full year in absolute numbers will be somewhat higher than in 2018.

“It is imperative for us to meet the demand for live, to continue to enable innovation within the company and to constantly increase the gap to competition. Connected to this, it is important to remember that in a case where we must prioritise, we will always put growth before margins.”

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Lauding “another important platform integration,” the supplier is to integrate its portfolio of slot titles as it aims to enhance its international presence across both new and emerging territories.

Anthony Singer, CEO and founder of High 5 Games, said of the agreement: “We are delighted to be launching our games on White Hat Gaming’s proprietary platform, which opens the door for a host of new players to access and enjoy our popular titles.

“Partnering with a well-respected brand such as White Hat Gaming is a great opportunity for us, and we look forward to growing the relationship together.”

Under the terms of the agreement, New York headquartered H5G is to supply White Hat’s roster of clients with a number of titles, including Way Out Wilds, Midnight Eclipse, The Green Machine Deluxe and Silver Enchantress.

Phil Gelvan, CEO of White Hat Gaming, added: “High 5 Games has built an excellent reputation for providing popular and engaging games. The content will allow us to bring yet more innovative gaming experiences to our operator partners and their players, and we very much look forward to rolling out their slots.”

CasinoBeats recently caught up with Singer to discuss the provider’s recent expansion in Scandinavia, why its slots are resonating with players in the region and targets for the future.

Regarding territories which are falling upon the H5G radar, it was stated: “After securing our Maltese licence earlier this year, plans are in place to extend our reach in several European territories. We are preparing to launch in Spain and Italy in the next few months, as well as Portugal and Romania, with exciting new deals and game releases on the horizon.

“Across the pond, the US is also promising strong growth as state legislators roll up the regulatory market shutters and open the gates to online casino content. We’re already one of the leading suppliers of slots to online operators and suppliers in New Jersey, and with over 24 years’ experience in the casino industry, we’re well positioned to adapt our content wherever demand takes us.”

To read the entire article, click here.

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Under the terms of the new deal Habanero’s entire Italian certified portfolio will be made available to Betflag, meaning its players will have access to titles such as Ways Of Fortune, 5 Lucky Lions and Jump.

Dario Rusconi, head of casino at Betflag.it, commented on the agreement: “It’s important to ensure we offer our players fresh and quality content and we have certainly ticked both boxes with this deal.

“Habanero know exactly what it takes to tailor their content for specific markets, and their wide range of offerings means there is something for everybody to enjoy.”

The partnership follows a number of integrations within the territory for Habanero having specifically targeted European expansion over the last 18 months, the most recent move of which saw an alignment made alongside the Bragg Gaming Group’s online gaming platform and content provider Oryx Gaming. 

Arcangelo Lonoce, European head of business development at Habanero, added: “Betflag is one of Italy’s fastest-growing operators and we can’t wait to see our games go live on site.

“They host titles from some of the industry’s biggest providers, and it’s really exciting to see our titles sit alongside them. We look forward to a great partnership together.”

Earlier this month Habanero moved to strengthen its executive team, as the organisation drafted in Vera Motto as business development executive, after departing her previous role as Espresso Games where a distinct focus was placed on the Latin American and Spanish markets.

Arriving with a wealth of experience and knowledge of a variety of markets, as well as press and media relations, in the new role Motto is to continue the Habanero push across various jurisdictions in Latin America.

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As part of the deal Red Rake is to provide its full portfolio of titles to Aspire’s array of operator partners, spanning numerous regulated markets. 

Jov Spiero, vice president of sales at Aspire Global, stated: “We are pleased to welcome game provider Red Rake to our platform. We see great opportunities for growth in the future, and are happy to boost our gaming portfolio offerings by having Red Rake’s high quality slots and other popular games added to the Aspire Global platform.”

Amongst the titles to be provided by Spanish supplier Red Rake are The Adventures of Ali Baba, Tiger and Dragon and Knights, as well as its latest release Super12Stars, which the firm boasts has “broken all release records with its feature and bonus [and] rich game play, with non-stop action from start to finish.”

Nick Barr, managing director of Red Rake Gaming’s Malta operations, commented on the agreement: “Partnering with one of the strongest platform providers in the market allows for Red Rake Gaming to continue growing its market share in many of the regulated markets we are already present in. 

“Aspire Global has gone from strength to strength in previous years and continues to dominate the online gambling industry with its robust, scalable and multi-functional platform. We are delighted to have launched with Aspire Global and are looking forward to a long lasting and fruitful partnership”.

Red Rake has recently undergone several strands of a concerted effort to grow its presence within Portugal, which most recently saw the group align with operator Casino Portugal.

This follows initial entry made alongside bet.pt and European online gaming group Betclic, which enjoys a strong presence in the market.

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