An email reportedly leaked by Diamond Flush Poker appears to show Laurent Tapie of Groupe Bernard Tapie (GBT) talking about setting up a new poker site, with the help of the FTP employees, claiming he has the money to do so.The e-mail also defends his tactics for player repayment, in the aftermath of last week’s PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker HUGE revelations. The e-mail was apparently sent to 6 upper-level employees of Full Tilt Poker.
The leaked e-mail reads:
Dear All,
Considering the work we have been doing together to relaunch FTP over the last 7 months, I feel it is my duty to inform you on the current situation, and my plan, before I release a press statement in the coming hours.
The deal with DOJ is off, and the negotiations are terminated. Ultimately, DOJ refused to accept GBT’s proposal for repayment of the ROW players – a proposal that we thought had been accepted – and, on 14 April 2012, informed my lawyer that they could only agree on an agreement where GBT would repay 100% of the 184M$ value of ROW players balance in a maximum of 90 days.
That clearly made the deal unworkable. And I believe no one would accept such terms.
I continue to believe that our plan for repayment was fair. We would have made all ROW players’ balances available for play on the relaunched site immediately. Furthermore, we would have repaid (allowed withdrawal of funds for) 94.9% of ROW players day 1, 4.9% of ROW players in 18 months and only 0.2% of these players in more than 18 months, with a maximum of 5 years for the very large balances. In addition, we agreed to a DOJ proposal to allow ROW players to submit petitions to the DOJ for compensation as well, and agreed both to reimburse DOJ for those players and to compensate those players for any amounts DOJ did not reimburse.
According to (finance employee’s name redacted by diamondflushpoker) last report, PK has enough funds to pay the april salaries but not May. Therefore, as an alternative to the purchase, I offered Ray Bitar to license the assets on a temporary basis, in order to relaunch the site, preserve the value of the assets and participate in an eventual auction as a bidder in the future.
Ray required DOJ’s aproval to do this. My own understanding of the situation was different : I thought that since the companies were clearly in insolvency, as a legal representative Ray should have immediately accepted this licensing offer which was the only concrete offer to preserve the jobs, the cash, and the value of the assets of the companies. Futhermore the DOJ is not the owner of the assets until it decides (if it ever decides) to forfeit them.
But Ray stayed on its position that DOJ’s aproval was necessary.
So we made the offer to DOJ but despite our best efforts, and with no surprise on my side, DOJ was unmoved and, on 20 April 2012, reaffirmed that its decision was final, that no licensing agreement of any kind would be accepted by them, and that our negotiations were ended.
I met Ray last friday and suggested him to place the companies into insolvency in each of the countries where they are (my understanding of the situation is that he legally should), and inform the staff that he can no longer guarantee their jobs.
Considering he has always required US DOJ’s aproval before taking any decision for the last 7 months I have been observing him, I don’t know if he has or if he will.
But on my side, I am unwilling to allow 7 months of effort to go to waste, to see 200 employees lose their jobs and to witness former FTP players around the world go unpaid.
For that reason, I have decided to devote a significant portion of the funds that I was planning to use for the acquisition of the FTP assets instead to launch my own company, under the auspices of Game Cubed, the company I have created in Ireland. I will do this only if I can attract ALL OF the Pocket Kings KEY STAFF to join me. With your help and know-how, we will launch a new website that will be best of breed in 6-7 months.
I know that any such step requires a leap of faith, so here is my offer: as of May 1, I will hire the entire Pocket Kings key staff – every single one of you – at your current salaries and with your accumulated benefits intact. I also will include stock options in the new company, so that weall will share in what I believe to be the exciting upside this opportunity represents.
We will write a new poker software platform based on your knowledge and relaunch using a new brand, with an offer to former FTP ROW players that will allow them to recover their lost balances if they come to our new site, just as we had planned in our agreement with DOJ.
I have the money to make this happen and am working with the Alderney licensing authorities on obtaining a license and getting their help on the repayment plan.
I am also negotiating with Poker Strategy to resurrect an affiliate arrangement similar to that which I was negotiating with FTP.
In order to make this work, I need commitments from you all very quickly. I am sorry to put this pressure on you, but timing is critical if this is to work. I need to know whether I have sufficient critical mass to move forward no later than the end of THIS WEEK.
If I do, I will schedule a meeting in Paris with the top 5-10 key peopleat the end of this week. We will take care of your travel and accomodation.
I look forward to partnering with each of you to help build the best poker site in the business.
Laurent Tapie
Directeur Général
BLT Développement
In response to this, PokerStrategy said:
“Due to the recent publication of an allegedly leaked email from Laurent Tapie to key Pocket Kings stakeholders and employees, PokerStrategy.com can confirm that representatives of our company previously visited with GBT and the Full Tilt Poker staff in Dublin to discuss potential partnership, consulting, and liquidity building initiatives for a re-launched Full Tilt Poker brand.
Prior to its closure in June 2011, Full Tilt Poker had been a major business partner of PokerStrategy.com, with over 30% of Full Tilt Poker’s active players having originated from our website. As such, a large number of our community members are currently unable to access the bankrolls they held with Full Tilt Poker. Although we were only at the preliminary stages of our discussions, we hoped to be instrumental in ensuring that a re-launched Full Tilt Poker would allow for swift repayment of previous player balances, incorporation of an open and transparent approach to the segregation of player funds, and the elimination of possible future cash flow issues.
We at PokerStrategy.com frequently review partnership opportunities from a wide variety of poker rooms with the ultimate goal of adding value for our users. Since the news that their deal fell through, our conversations with GBT have been limited and we are unaware of their actual plans for establishing a standalone site.”
May 02, 2012
PETA: Pigeon Racing Is A "Blood Sport"
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is in a huff after the group's 15-month "investigation" revealed that pigeons often die during pigeon races. In most cases, however -- as even PETA admits -- the animals aren't killed by their handlers, but by things that would kill the birds if they were in the wild and not involved in racing.
There are, however, some sickos who intentionally kill the birds, as you can see in a video (provided by PETA) embedded below.
According to PETA, the birds are often raised in captivity and then taken hundreds of miles away and expected to race home. Along the way, many of them are killed by things like hawks, weather, or starvation. PETA argues that because the animals are raised in captivity they're not prepared for life in the wild.
The group says that only about 40-percent of the birds involved in pigeon racing finish the races. During a race in Queens, the group says only four of 213 birds made it to the finish line. Keep in mind, we're talking about pigeons -- perhaps a few just decided to head to Central Park rather than return to life in captivity. In other words, there's no way to know whether the missing birds died or just didn't return home.
Alleged animal abuse aside, PETA claims that pigeon racing generates $15 million a year in illegal gambling proceeds and involves felony violations of federal gambling, racketeering, and tax-evasion laws.
As we mentioned, there a few creeps who actually kill birds that perform poorly in the races. One man is caught on tape saying that "the first thing you have to learn [about pigeon racing] -- how to kill pigeons." He goes on to say drowning and suffocation are his two preferred methods for killing birds. See video below. Click here for more on PETA's investigation.
There are, however, some sickos who intentionally kill the birds, as you can see in a video (provided by PETA) embedded below.
According to PETA, the birds are often raised in captivity and then taken hundreds of miles away and expected to race home. Along the way, many of them are killed by things like hawks, weather, or starvation. PETA argues that because the animals are raised in captivity they're not prepared for life in the wild.
The group says that only about 40-percent of the birds involved in pigeon racing finish the races. During a race in Queens, the group says only four of 213 birds made it to the finish line. Keep in mind, we're talking about pigeons -- perhaps a few just decided to head to Central Park rather than return to life in captivity. In other words, there's no way to know whether the missing birds died or just didn't return home.
Alleged animal abuse aside, PETA claims that pigeon racing generates $15 million a year in illegal gambling proceeds and involves felony violations of federal gambling, racketeering, and tax-evasion laws.
As we mentioned, there a few creeps who actually kill birds that perform poorly in the races. One man is caught on tape saying that "the first thing you have to learn [about pigeon racing] -- how to kill pigeons." He goes on to say drowning and suffocation are his two preferred methods for killing birds. See video below. Click here for more on PETA's investigation.
Hodgson appointment a bitter pill for sportsbooks
Roy Hodgson has been announced as the new England manager and will take over after his current side, Bodog-sponsored West Brom, have played their last two games of the Premier League season. Hodgson comes into the job as one of the only managers to be handed the poisoned chalice with significant experience at international level. He has guided both Switzerland and the United Arab Emirates with the former reaching a high of third on the FIFA world rankings whilst boss.
The bookies haven’t had the best of times since Fabio Capello was sacked back in February and needless to say, today’s appointment wasn’t a particularly good one as far as they were concerned. Picking long-time favorite ‘arry Redknapp would have been a winner for a number of firms with SkyBet one of those that were worried about Redknapp not being appointed back in February. Today Helen Jacob was in somber mood.
“Harry Redknapp would have been a brilliant result for us. As Redknapp had been such a short price for such a long time, customers had looked at bigger priced alternatives. The best backed and most realistic of which was Hodgson, who came in for consistent support at around the 16/1 mark in recent months.”
Stan James was in the same camp, with spokesperson Rory Jiwani telling us: “In the end, Roy Hodgson turned out to be a five-figure loser for StanJames.com. Immediately after Fabio Capello’s resignation, we decided to keep Harry Redknapp on our side, as he looked a certainty for the job. But in the last month, we were best price Redknapp and hardly took a bet as the uncertainty mounted.”
William Hill spokesman Graham Sharpe believed the FA took the easy option by picking Hodgson over Redknapp.
He said: “Harry was always favourite – largely because the media would not hear of anyone else getting the job and gave the impression they ‘knew’ it was a matter of when, not if. Personally, I always believed that the FA would probably revert to ‘Brian ‘Too Hot To Handle’ Clough-mode, and that even if they didn’t, Harry, a man who appears to love to be loved, might believe that a couple of England defeats may undo all the work he has done over the years making himself popular with pundits and punters alike.”
Sharpe also added that Hodgson wasn’t alone in receiving support from the punters, adding: “Roy Hodgson was not without punter support, however, so it was not one-way traffic in the market, with Stuart Pearce also coming in for a fair amount of betting support.”
Heading into the European Championships, the sportsbooks are split on what effect the appointment of Hodgson will have on the attitudes of bettors looking to get behind the team. Charlie McCann from BetVictor spoke to us earlier and was far from glowing of the new boss, his belief being that the “punter in the street” won’t be getting behind Roy.
He added: “Roy Hodgson has never captured the public’s imagination and I just wonder if punters will desert England as a result of what has generally been perceived as a conservative/unimaginative but safe appointment.”
Jiwani at Stan James commented that the former West Brom boss has his “work cut out to convince England fans that he is the right man for the job”.
The bookies haven’t had the best of times since Fabio Capello was sacked back in February and needless to say, today’s appointment wasn’t a particularly good one as far as they were concerned. Picking long-time favorite ‘arry Redknapp would have been a winner for a number of firms with SkyBet one of those that were worried about Redknapp not being appointed back in February. Today Helen Jacob was in somber mood.
“Harry Redknapp would have been a brilliant result for us. As Redknapp had been such a short price for such a long time, customers had looked at bigger priced alternatives. The best backed and most realistic of which was Hodgson, who came in for consistent support at around the 16/1 mark in recent months.”
Stan James was in the same camp, with spokesperson Rory Jiwani telling us: “In the end, Roy Hodgson turned out to be a five-figure loser for StanJames.com. Immediately after Fabio Capello’s resignation, we decided to keep Harry Redknapp on our side, as he looked a certainty for the job. But in the last month, we were best price Redknapp and hardly took a bet as the uncertainty mounted.”
William Hill spokesman Graham Sharpe believed the FA took the easy option by picking Hodgson over Redknapp.
He said: “Harry was always favourite – largely because the media would not hear of anyone else getting the job and gave the impression they ‘knew’ it was a matter of when, not if. Personally, I always believed that the FA would probably revert to ‘Brian ‘Too Hot To Handle’ Clough-mode, and that even if they didn’t, Harry, a man who appears to love to be loved, might believe that a couple of England defeats may undo all the work he has done over the years making himself popular with pundits and punters alike.”
Sharpe also added that Hodgson wasn’t alone in receiving support from the punters, adding: “Roy Hodgson was not without punter support, however, so it was not one-way traffic in the market, with Stuart Pearce also coming in for a fair amount of betting support.”
Heading into the European Championships, the sportsbooks are split on what effect the appointment of Hodgson will have on the attitudes of bettors looking to get behind the team. Charlie McCann from BetVictor spoke to us earlier and was far from glowing of the new boss, his belief being that the “punter in the street” won’t be getting behind Roy.
He added: “Roy Hodgson has never captured the public’s imagination and I just wonder if punters will desert England as a result of what has generally been perceived as a conservative/unimaginative but safe appointment.”
Jiwani at Stan James commented that the former West Brom boss has his “work cut out to convince England fans that he is the right man for the job”.
Last hands dealt at O’Sheas 1989-2012
O’Sheas, on the Las Vegas strip, is to be demolished to make way for a $500 million Linq Project, an outdoor food and shopping resort. The last drinks were bought and punters placed their bets for the last time at the Irish themed casino. Massive, glitzy resorts have popped up all around it, but O’Sheas has remained largely the same for the past 23 years. O’Shea’s Casino closed at noon Monday after urging patrons to “drink us dry” over the weekend. In preparation for its big plan, Caesars have already placed 90% of their 300-strong staff at its other venues.
“We think now is a great time for this project,” says Rick Mazer, with Caesar Entertainment. “We are starting to see the economy rebound, and visitors return. It’s time to give people another reason to come to Las Vegas”.
Building the new Project Linq, is generating 3,000 construction jobs. It will also offer 1,800 permanent jobs once it opens. The new complex will feature a scaled-down version of O’Sheas.
“We think now is a great time for this project,” says Rick Mazer, with Caesar Entertainment. “We are starting to see the economy rebound, and visitors return. It’s time to give people another reason to come to Las Vegas”.
Building the new Project Linq, is generating 3,000 construction jobs. It will also offer 1,800 permanent jobs once it opens. The new complex will feature a scaled-down version of O’Sheas.
May 01, 2012
William Hill on US track
Ralph Topping has continued to refute rumours of their delayed online gambling license. It was previously reported in the Guardian newspaper that there may be a delay in attaining a license. However, Ralph Topping, Chief Executive Officer of William Hill, said while discussing William Hills’ strong first 2012 financial results with analysts that the applied for application “to complete [our] US acquisitions is progressing well and remains within the timetable.”
Topping, also explained the company’s online gambling success, “Our investments in marketing and innovations continue to deliver benefits, with our Sportsbook exceeding £50m in turnover in a single week for the first time during the quarter and mobile turnover reaching almost £11m in a single week,” Topping continued, “Our mobile performance is now benefitting from our Sportsbook app being available in the Apple App Store, giving us access to thousands of new customers who have never bet with William Hill before, highlighting the growth potential of these new channels and their importance to our multi-channel offering.”
It’s thought that a licence may be awarded during summer 2012.
Topping, also explained the company’s online gambling success, “Our investments in marketing and innovations continue to deliver benefits, with our Sportsbook exceeding £50m in turnover in a single week for the first time during the quarter and mobile turnover reaching almost £11m in a single week,” Topping continued, “Our mobile performance is now benefitting from our Sportsbook app being available in the Apple App Store, giving us access to thousands of new customers who have never bet with William Hill before, highlighting the growth potential of these new channels and their importance to our multi-channel offering.”
It’s thought that a licence may be awarded during summer 2012.
Betfred bets on online expansion
Fred Done is reportedly considering expanding into eastern Europe. It’s been speculated that Done is also looking to grow his online business in a bid to keep up with the rapidly evolving online sector. He won the North West Ambassador Award at The Business Desk’s North West Business Masters awards last week and said he’d want to move his online business from Gibraltar to the north west if taxation is changed.
The Business Desk reported that Done confirmed the company has been offered a business in eastern Europe, but that the big growth for story is going to be the online business. Over the last three years Betfred has grown 80 per cent, 85 per cent and 60 per cent, but Done said that the online business “should be in this country” rather than in Gibraltar and that taxation has to be changed to allow the company to bring jobs back to where it is based.
Betfred last year acquired The Tote for £265m, the integration for which was completed by January, two months before the initial target was set.
The Business Desk reported that Done confirmed the company has been offered a business in eastern Europe, but that the big growth for story is going to be the online business. Over the last three years Betfred has grown 80 per cent, 85 per cent and 60 per cent, but Done said that the online business “should be in this country” rather than in Gibraltar and that taxation has to be changed to allow the company to bring jobs back to where it is based.
Betfred last year acquired The Tote for £265m, the integration for which was completed by January, two months before the initial target was set.
PurpleLounge closed
Online poker and casino website PurpleLounge.com has been pulled offline by parent company Media Corp. The short-notice move by the company happened when it became, “…clear that the Purple Lounge is trading materially behind the same period of the previous financial year which will result in increased losses for the division and, as a result, the Company as a whole,” according to a trading statement issued by the company on Friday.
Media Corp, which earlier this month announced its intention to explore taking over its parent company Gaming Media Group, also said, “The directors believe that Purple Lounge has suffered as a result of negative trade press (much of which the directors consider totally unfounded) particularly surrounding the litigation brought against one of the Company’s subsidiaries by CD Casino.com Limited.”
The reason for the litigation is unknown.
It has been reported that Media Corp loaned the online poker room £900,000 in the last few months; it also claimed it never received cash dividend from Purple Lounge.
PurpleLounge.com moved from the Microgaming poker network in January 2012 to Entraction (now International Game Technology).
Poker players with money on the site now have a nervous wait to find out what happens next.
Media Corp, which earlier this month announced its intention to explore taking over its parent company Gaming Media Group, also said, “The directors believe that Purple Lounge has suffered as a result of negative trade press (much of which the directors consider totally unfounded) particularly surrounding the litigation brought against one of the Company’s subsidiaries by CD Casino.com Limited.”
The reason for the litigation is unknown.
It has been reported that Media Corp loaned the online poker room £900,000 in the last few months; it also claimed it never received cash dividend from Purple Lounge.
PurpleLounge.com moved from the Microgaming poker network in January 2012 to Entraction (now International Game Technology).
Poker players with money on the site now have a nervous wait to find out what happens next.
April 25, 2012
PokerStars Reaches Agreement to Buy Full Tilt, Settle with DOJ
In an surprise move, industry-leader PokerStars has reached an agreement with the US DOJ to purchase long-time rival Full Tilt Poker and settle its outstanding legal matters.
PokerStars has reached a settlement with the US Department of Justice, pokerfuse can reveal. Part of the deal involves the purchase of Full Tilt Poker and full repayment of all players.
The specifics of the deal are not yet known, and no statement has yet come from any parties involved.
Rumors that PokerStars has reached a deal with the DOJ to purchase Full Tilt Poker began swirling early Tuesday morning on poker forum 2+2. Sources have corroborated the story with Pokerfuse that a deal has indeed been reached but could not confirm any specific details.
Alex Dreyfus, CEO of Chili Gaming, stated on twitter that PokerStars has paid $750m to acquire Full Tilt and settle its outstanding legal issues with the DOJ. A reported $330m of that price will go to repay Full Tilt account holders with the remainder believed to be in settlement of outstanding charges against PokerStars.
Until now, French investment group Group Bernard Tapie were known to be in late-stage talks. According to sources at e-Gaming Magazine, “efforts to obtain final DoJ approval to acquire the assets of Full Tilt Poker have ended without success,” and that the deal was “sabbotaged,” according to iGamingFrance.
As a point of comparison, PartyGaming (now known as bwin.party) co-founder Anurag Dikshit agreed to a plea deal with the DOJ in 2008 for a total of $300m. In 2009, payment processor Neteller settled for $136m.
However, the charges facing Scheinberg are more serious. The elusive billionaire, along with an otherwise unknown Isle of Man resident Paul Tate, are charged under violation of the UIGEA, operation of an illegal gambling business, and conspiracy to commit bank fraud, wire fraud and money laundering.
According to the unconfirmed reports on 2+2, PokerStars plans to bring Full Tilt Poker back online, and maintain separate sites.
PokerStars has reached a settlement with the US Department of Justice, pokerfuse can reveal. Part of the deal involves the purchase of Full Tilt Poker and full repayment of all players.
The specifics of the deal are not yet known, and no statement has yet come from any parties involved.
Rumors that PokerStars has reached a deal with the DOJ to purchase Full Tilt Poker began swirling early Tuesday morning on poker forum 2+2. Sources have corroborated the story with Pokerfuse that a deal has indeed been reached but could not confirm any specific details.
Alex Dreyfus, CEO of Chili Gaming, stated on twitter that PokerStars has paid $750m to acquire Full Tilt and settle its outstanding legal issues with the DOJ. A reported $330m of that price will go to repay Full Tilt account holders with the remainder believed to be in settlement of outstanding charges against PokerStars.
Until now, French investment group Group Bernard Tapie were known to be in late-stage talks. According to sources at e-Gaming Magazine, “efforts to obtain final DoJ approval to acquire the assets of Full Tilt Poker have ended without success,” and that the deal was “sabbotaged,” according to iGamingFrance.
As a point of comparison, PartyGaming (now known as bwin.party) co-founder Anurag Dikshit agreed to a plea deal with the DOJ in 2008 for a total of $300m. In 2009, payment processor Neteller settled for $136m.
However, the charges facing Scheinberg are more serious. The elusive billionaire, along with an otherwise unknown Isle of Man resident Paul Tate, are charged under violation of the UIGEA, operation of an illegal gambling business, and conspiracy to commit bank fraud, wire fraud and money laundering.
According to the unconfirmed reports on 2+2, PokerStars plans to bring Full Tilt Poker back online, and maintain separate sites.
April 24, 2012
Bet365 copyists need more than a good ad
Bet365 and Ray Winstone revolutionised TV advertising for sports betting. In 2011 the rest of the industry tried to copy its success. But advertising is not the sole success factor.
A disembodied Ray Winstone and a pioneering use of live odds has proven a potent combination for Bet365, allowing it to steal a march on its rivals in the increasingly lucrative in-play market.
The TV campaign, originally launched in 2009 for the Cheltenham races, has evolved from Winstone walking out on a pitch to generate excitement about the 50 in-play markets on offer, to the tough-guy actor receiving a hologram makeover and appearing to fans in a variety of settings, at home, down the pub and at the game. Appearing at half time, he offers the latest live odds in a friendly, almost off-hand tone.
Key to the ad’s success is use of Winstone’s history of playing gentlemen gangsters. He exudes the essence of the gambling man, while tapping into the multimedia, mobile world we live in. Who watches TV without a laptop or mobile in hand these days? Most of Bet365’s target market of young male football fans, that’s for sure.
“The ads have very cleverly tapped into the multi-screen revolution which is shaping how people consume and interact with media content,” points out Oisin Lunny, senior marketing development manager for mobile services and transaction provider OpenMarket, which works with clients across the gaming industry. “Viewers, particularly the digital-native generation, have a high expectation of interactivity, which increases in line with technologies ability to support it.”
While privately-owned Stoke-based Bet365 does not release its financial data, it has revealed that sports betting rose by 47.5% to £195.1m over the first half of its financial year, which started in March 2011. At the same time, co-chief executive Denise Coates notes the launch of the new sports site with its in-play features as one of the highlights of of the year.
It is no surprise Bet365’s rivals have been quick to follow suit. Kristof Fahy, chief marketing officer at William Hill, said its new strategy would include an increasing number of live components. While Ladbrokes’ Game On! campaign seeks to tap into the excitement of betting in-game with its use of famously over-the-top Italian commentator Tiziano Crudeli. Launched for the start of the football season, he is shown getting excited about the games’ most incongruous moments.
In marketing and advertising, where is it often said there are no new ideas, rival brands seeking to ape certain elements of a rival’s campaign is neither frowned upon or unexpected. Customers will rarely, if ever, care who created the advertising first but what they will remember is whether the service they receive lives up to their expectations.
William Hill and Ladbrokes are merely two of the companies that have sought, dare we say it, to copy Bet365’s attempts to generate in-the moment excitement around betting. While it is hoped this kind of incremental betting will bring in new customers, the role of the advertising is simply to drive them to the website or app.
Indeed, as with any online or mobile service, the battle will be won and lost on the customer experience. Driving customers to the site is just the first step. As Lunny says: “While I completely agree with the Bet365 strategy, which sees smartphones and their HTML5 betting site as a key driver of interactivity, this will only be as compelling as the sign-up process for first-time users, which is currently quite laborious.”
Dealing with that as well as addressing the lack of consumer trust about mobile security (many people are still reluctant to punch their credit card details into an m-site), are crucial to ensure consumers stay on the site once the ad campaign has driven them to check it out.
The win-win situation, says Lunny, is to ensure in-game services are properly optimised for use on PCs, smartphones and also with SMS-triggered in-game bets. Meanwhile, new technology, such as MMS age verification, will allow operators to identify customers and build complex profiles that help to make their messages more targeted, engaging customers at the right time with the right message.
“The marriage of technology innovations, consumer appetite for interactivity and clever marketing, such as the TV ads from Bet365, has sparked this massive growth of in-game betting,” explains Lunny. “And it’s only going to get bigger.”
A disembodied Ray Winstone and a pioneering use of live odds has proven a potent combination for Bet365, allowing it to steal a march on its rivals in the increasingly lucrative in-play market.
The TV campaign, originally launched in 2009 for the Cheltenham races, has evolved from Winstone walking out on a pitch to generate excitement about the 50 in-play markets on offer, to the tough-guy actor receiving a hologram makeover and appearing to fans in a variety of settings, at home, down the pub and at the game. Appearing at half time, he offers the latest live odds in a friendly, almost off-hand tone.
Key to the ad’s success is use of Winstone’s history of playing gentlemen gangsters. He exudes the essence of the gambling man, while tapping into the multimedia, mobile world we live in. Who watches TV without a laptop or mobile in hand these days? Most of Bet365’s target market of young male football fans, that’s for sure.
“The ads have very cleverly tapped into the multi-screen revolution which is shaping how people consume and interact with media content,” points out Oisin Lunny, senior marketing development manager for mobile services and transaction provider OpenMarket, which works with clients across the gaming industry. “Viewers, particularly the digital-native generation, have a high expectation of interactivity, which increases in line with technologies ability to support it.”
While privately-owned Stoke-based Bet365 does not release its financial data, it has revealed that sports betting rose by 47.5% to £195.1m over the first half of its financial year, which started in March 2011. At the same time, co-chief executive Denise Coates notes the launch of the new sports site with its in-play features as one of the highlights of of the year.
It is no surprise Bet365’s rivals have been quick to follow suit. Kristof Fahy, chief marketing officer at William Hill, said its new strategy would include an increasing number of live components. While Ladbrokes’ Game On! campaign seeks to tap into the excitement of betting in-game with its use of famously over-the-top Italian commentator Tiziano Crudeli. Launched for the start of the football season, he is shown getting excited about the games’ most incongruous moments.
In marketing and advertising, where is it often said there are no new ideas, rival brands seeking to ape certain elements of a rival’s campaign is neither frowned upon or unexpected. Customers will rarely, if ever, care who created the advertising first but what they will remember is whether the service they receive lives up to their expectations.
William Hill and Ladbrokes are merely two of the companies that have sought, dare we say it, to copy Bet365’s attempts to generate in-the moment excitement around betting. While it is hoped this kind of incremental betting will bring in new customers, the role of the advertising is simply to drive them to the website or app.
Indeed, as with any online or mobile service, the battle will be won and lost on the customer experience. Driving customers to the site is just the first step. As Lunny says: “While I completely agree with the Bet365 strategy, which sees smartphones and their HTML5 betting site as a key driver of interactivity, this will only be as compelling as the sign-up process for first-time users, which is currently quite laborious.”
Dealing with that as well as addressing the lack of consumer trust about mobile security (many people are still reluctant to punch their credit card details into an m-site), are crucial to ensure consumers stay on the site once the ad campaign has driven them to check it out.
The win-win situation, says Lunny, is to ensure in-game services are properly optimised for use on PCs, smartphones and also with SMS-triggered in-game bets. Meanwhile, new technology, such as MMS age verification, will allow operators to identify customers and build complex profiles that help to make their messages more targeted, engaging customers at the right time with the right message.
“The marriage of technology innovations, consumer appetite for interactivity and clever marketing, such as the TV ads from Bet365, has sparked this massive growth of in-game betting,” explains Lunny. “And it’s only going to get bigger.”
Tycoon Tzvetkoff spotted hiding
Fallen IT tycoon has reportedly been spotted by The Courier-Mail yesterday taking a leisurely family stroll with his wife, son and newborn daughter through New York’s Chinatown, whilst being ‘in hiding.’ He once faced 75 years’ jail for processing $1billion in illegal US gambling money.
His recent “under FBI protection” has come a long way since his last whereabouts, inside a New York jail, for allegedly processing illegal transactions for the world’s three largest gambling companies: PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker and Absolute Poker, using his inside knowledge.
He disappeared in 2010; it was speculated that he was helping the FBI and the US Government’s prosecute the three kingpin owners of the websites.
When approached by The Courier-Mail, Tzvetkoff at first denied who he was.
“No that’s not me,” he said.
“No, no,” he said, refusing to answer questions.
“Look, you’re going to get in a lot of trouble. There are people with us who you’re going to be in trouble with,” Tzvetkoff said while pointing behind him.
When he couldn’t specify who his secret protectors were he said: “Look mate, you’re going to get in a lot of trouble with me right now”.
He hastily packed his family into a nearby taxi and drove off.
Despite being public enemy No.1 in the online gambling community and ratting out his former mates, Tzvetkoff strolled carefree down Chinatown’s popular Mott St.
His recent “under FBI protection” has come a long way since his last whereabouts, inside a New York jail, for allegedly processing illegal transactions for the world’s three largest gambling companies: PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker and Absolute Poker, using his inside knowledge.
He disappeared in 2010; it was speculated that he was helping the FBI and the US Government’s prosecute the three kingpin owners of the websites.
When approached by The Courier-Mail, Tzvetkoff at first denied who he was.
“No that’s not me,” he said.
“No, no,” he said, refusing to answer questions.
“Look, you’re going to get in a lot of trouble. There are people with us who you’re going to be in trouble with,” Tzvetkoff said while pointing behind him.
When he couldn’t specify who his secret protectors were he said: “Look mate, you’re going to get in a lot of trouble with me right now”.
He hastily packed his family into a nearby taxi and drove off.
Despite being public enemy No.1 in the online gambling community and ratting out his former mates, Tzvetkoff strolled carefree down Chinatown’s popular Mott St.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)