bwin.party and Belgian Gambling Commission will quarrel no more

Online gaming firm bwin.party digital entertainment has solved its Belgian woes by agreeing a deal with Belcasinos that will see the two collaborating to offer services in the country’s regulated gambling market. The land-based firm is a subsidiary of Groupe Partouche and it will give bwin.party the chance to offer online sports betting, poker and casino games using their brands in Belgium. (N.B. It wasn’t like they weren’t offering them before, they just realized after arrest-gate that Belgian meant business).

The deal has been rubber stamped by the Belgian Gambling Commission with the company’s sites “in the process” of being removed from the BGC’s blacklist. After the agreement Jim Ryan and Norbert Teufelberger, co-CEOs of bwin.party, added: “Following recent developments in Belgium and after further dialogue with the local regulator, we have put our differences of opinion behind us and are now focused on the immediate commercial opportunity.”

The “difference in opinion” relates to the fact that bwin.party continued to operate in the country unlicensed for some time and saw its sites put on the country’s blacklist of unlicensed sites. It culminated in the soon-to-be-lone CEO Teufelberger being detained for questioning by Belgian cops at the behest of BGC. Being detained in Belgian could have far reaching effects with some thinking the US regulators won’t look kindly upon it when they try to gain a licence in any state that decides to regulate.

Partouche now has a number of partnerships in the Belgian market with the bwin.party agreement added to another with WMS-owned Jackpot Party. These are in addition to the firm’s own partouche.be offering. Jacques Frojman, CEO of Belcasino and Partouche Belgium added: “bwin.party is a market leader in online gaming with strong brands in sports betting, poker and casino. We are thrilled to be working with such a quality partner in Belgium.”

The damage may already be done for bwin.party as the US regulatory system won’t look kindly upon the company CEO being harangued by various police forces over the past decade or so. This is before you take into account their selective compliance with regulatory regimes across their most important market – Europe. November and December has been an eventful couple of months for bwin.party and things aren’t about to slow down in 2013 in what will be a pivotal year for the company.

Betfair to take new direction off the back of steady results

UK exchange betting specialists Betfair expect full year results to be lagging behind the previous year as the company’s sluggish performance continued through the first half of the year. Group revenue grew just 5 percent to £200.6million with various regulatory problems meaning the firm’s underlying operating profit dropped by 25 percent to £19.6million. The group expects the uncertainty to continue for the rest of the year with the “ongoing impact” of regulation costing them £3.5million every month.

Sports continued their strong performance with revenue up 8 percent in the period with football revenue, driven by Euro 2012 and a higher number of lower-league fixtures, increasing by 15 percent. Mobile continued its triple-figure growth with a 108 percent increase in revenue to £18.1million as 50 percent of UK and Irish customers used a mobile to place a bet. Over 20 percent of casino customers now use mobile as well. Games revenue wasn’t so lucky as it dropped by 2 percent after being “significantly affected by regulation” and poker revenue took a hit with revenue down 11 percent.

The performance has led them to identify various parts of the business that need looking at. They will try to reinvigorate the business by focusing on regulated jurisdictions to “increase sustainability of revenues” whilst at the same time making sure to “invest in product and brand to enhance our competitive position and drive growth”. The group will also “introduce greater accountability and become a leaner and more dynamic business”. To that end they’ve identified circa £20million worth of savings already and CEO Breon Corcoran commented that he is “excited to be leading Betfair through this change.” The first savings will involve ceasing investment in financial trading firm LMAX and social gaming business Kabam.

All of the doom and gloom means that drowning ones sorrows will be at the top of the agenda when the full year results come out in April. The company expects these to be lower than the previous year with group revenue estimated to fall between £370million and £385million and underlying EBITDA between £65m and £70m. Luckily for Betfair the market doesn’t seem too fussed by the results and their share price rose this morning by 1.18 percent to 773p. Every cloud.

888 friends Facebook for real money launch

UK-listed online gaming operator 888 is to launch a portfolio of real-money gaming products on Facebook targeting British consumers.

The agreement with Facebook is a major coup for 888, which becomes only the second real-money gambling provider to reach such a deal with the world’s largest social network.

888 will utilise its existing social gaming operation Mytopia to offer its real-money bingo, casino and slot games on the UK Facebook platform, but interestingly, not poker.

888 will initially offer its Bingo Appy branded app via the platform, with a casino offering including slots and other popular games scheduled to follow shortly.

“888 has long recognised the potential for social gaming,” said 888 chief operating officer Itai Frieberger. “Our Facebook freemium (play-for-fun) offerings have found a significant audience, and we are very excited by the opportunity that real money gaming on Facebook provides.

“We are working closely with Facebook on this launch, ensuring we introduce the best of both worlds of real money and social gaming.”

Julien Codorniou, head of games partnerships for Facebook in Europe, added: “Facebook is a great platform for playing games and with your friends and we are really pleased to be working with 888, who have a strong reputation on both the quality and safety of their games.”

Shares in 888 Holdings plc (Co. Data) (LSE:888) were trading up 0.92 per cent in London this morning shortly after the announcement at 110.25 pence per share.

Bayern Munich have been declared Bundesliga champions by one betting company

Bayern Munich have been declared Bundesliga champions by one betting company before the halfway stage of the season.

Bayern take an 11-point advantage into the last round of matches in 2012 and anybody who had placed a bet on them winning the league with myBet can enjoy an early Christmas present as the company is already paying out.

"Bayern's dominance and the quality and strength in depth they have in their squad speaks for itself," said myBet's general manager Edward Mifsud on sport.de.

"No other Bundesliga club can compete with them this season."

Bayern are already 14 points clear of defending champions Borussia Dortmund - who managed to overturn an eight-point deficit on the Bavarians last season, but are looking unlikely to bridge an even greater gap this time around.

"It's not only the advantage on second place, but it is also their huge goal difference of plus 37 which earns them an extra point," added Mifsud.

Dortmund's 81-point Bundesliga record from last season is also under threat with Bayern, who have lost only once all season, already on 41 points with one game to go before the halfway stage of the season.

Euromillions takes the lottery international

Euromillions has launched a new website, which expands its lottery currently spanning 9 European countries across the globe, significantly increasing the player and prize pool.

The Euromillions lottery has been around for almost ten years and has become one of the largest lotteries in the world. With the launch of Euromillions.com, the lottery has become easier to play as it grows and reaches a wider audience. Euromillions.com makes the lottery available to players worldwide while providing user friendly features to simplify the lottery playing process.

Prior to the launch of the website, Euromillions lottery tickets were only available for in person purchase in any of the 9 participating European countries. During this time, the lottery grew in popularity and prize sums increased rapidly.

The website offers lottery ticket purchase to qualified players anywhere in the world and conveniently deposits winnings into a player’s bank account. This represents a marked break from traditional methods of playing lotteries, when a player would have to collect winnings in person. No more pesky trips to Europe. Then again, after winning a lottery trips to Europe may not be so pesky anymore.

Additionally, purchasing tickets online offers a degree of security that could not be conferred with physical tickets. A physical ticket added the risk of suspicious persons finding and redeeming a player’s ticket. Euromillions avoids this by connecting a virtual ticket to its purchaser. These feature will certainly attract players who would prefer to avoid the hassle of traditional lotteries.

The online convenience that Euromillions provides only sweetens the deal for lottery players. With jackpots that can reach €190 million and a generous prize structure with 13 categories, there are huge prize pools at stake.

The Euromillions website is laid it out in an easy-to-follow format that walks players through 4 easy steps to purchase a ticket. It also serves as an outlet for Euromillions related stories and keeps players up to date on the lottery drawings and news. By streamlining the process, the website will increase the number of players and also the prize sums.

William Hill announces its withdrawl from Greek market

William Hill has announced that William Hill Online will no longer make its products available to customers located in Greece until such time that there is greater clarity on the regulatory approach to be taken by the Greek authorities in relation to such customers.

On 5 November 2012, the Greek Gaming Commission issued a Decision that includes provisions for financial penalties and criminal sanctions against gaming operators that continue to accept custom from the market after 5 December without a locally issued licence. William Hill believes that there are significant issues with the legality and enforceability of these proposals; however, until greater clarity is received, it has taken the decision to withdraw from this market.

Based on legal advice, it considers the gambling legislation in Greece to be inconsistent with European law and the associated fiscal conditions attached to these licences – which may include payment of retrospective taxes on past revenues – makes the market economically unattractive. On this basis, William Hill Online does not currently intend to apply for a licence to operate in Greece.

William Hill, along with other operators, has been working with various parties to achieve legislation that allows fair competition in the market in Greece and elsewhere. William Hill is disappointed that the European Commission continues, despite previously stated intentions to the contrary, not to take effective action to prevent protectionist behaviour on behalf of member states, of which the Greek, German and Belgian regimes are only the most recent examples.

Prior to the decision to withdraw from Greece, William Hill Online had been expecting to generate £4-5 million of operating profit p.a. from Greek resident customers.

Irish Olympian Peter O’Leary off the hook on Olympic betting allegations

By virtue of what can be best described as naiveté-can-get-you-off-the-hook, Irish sailor and Olympian Peter O’Leary will not face an Olympic ban after betting on one of his direct competitors to win at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. After a four-month investigation that began shortly after the opening ceremonies of the 2012 London Olympics, the International Olympic Committee determined that O’Leary didn’t do anything wrong, except for not knowing that Olympic athletes are prohibited from making bets on Olympic events, especially those that they’re competing in.

According to a statement on the IOC’s website, the Executive Board decided to “issue a warning to Irish sailor Peter O’Leary who admitted betting on an Olympic sailing event at the Beijing 2008 Games, but denied any competition fixing.”

In explaining the proverbial slap on the wrist punishment given to O’Leary, IOC spokesman Mark Adams told reporters that there was no evidence of O’Leary engaging in some kind of match-fixing and that the Irish sailor’s only fault was not knowing he could not bet on Olympic events.

“It is not something we agree with and we condemn it, but we will not take any more action,” Adams added.

According to Eurosport Asia, O’Leary made two bets worth a total of €300 on the British boat to win the gold medal in the Star class at the 2008 Beijing Olympics at 12/1 odds (an event that he actually failed to qualify in). O’Leary’s call for the British to win proved to be correct, netting the sailor €3,600.

It can be said that O’Leary was fortunate enough to have made those wagers during the 2008 Olympics. It was a time when the IOC was only beginning its campaign to educate athletes on the risk of irregular and illegal betting. Had he made the wagers at the 2012 London Olympics, though, then we wouldn’t be surprised if the IOC did give him a lifetime ban.

But as such, the unique circumstance surrounding the time he made the wager, coupled with his admission that he didn’t know that it was illegal to bet on any Olympic event, prompted the IOC to be lenient on his punishment. No bans, just a warning akin to a heavy slap on the wrist.

For all intents and purposes, that’s like the equivalent of winning a gold medal.

Bwin.party Co-CEO Jim Ryan To Retire

One of the iGaming industry’s strongest marriages is coming to an amicable end after bwin.party digital entertainment announced that Jim Ryan is retiring from his position as co-CEO of the group. Ryan will leave his role at the iGaming firm on Jan. 15, 2013, and retire to a life of pancakes and poutine in Canada.

Commenting on his departure, Ryan said: “Being Co-CEO of bwin.party has been my dream job. As we approach the final stages of our merger integration I am immensely proud of what we have achieved and know that with Norbert at the helm, the business is in excellent hands and is particularly well-placed for the future. Having given over 11 years of my life to the online gaming industry, I am now looking forward to returning to Canada and enjoying more time with my family.”

Ryan can lay claim to being the group’s first ever CEO from the time bwin and PartyGaming merged back in March 2011. Before that he was at the helm of PartyGaming from June 2008 and in the past worked in Gibraltar for the iGaming firm St Minver during his career in the industry that stretches back to 2001.

It turns out that Ryan’s speech at October’s Global Gaming Expo (G2E) in Las Vegas, which focused on iGaming’s prospects in the USA, was one of his last as co-head honcho of bwin.party – so get those conference lanyards up on eBay for a quick buck! It’s the precursor to the company’s continued efforts towards becoming one of the first companies to move into the US market and Ryan is hopeful part of his legacy will include facilitating the company’s passage into the US market.

The company is now left in the hands of a man that has been more used to the back seat of a prison van than anything else in the past few weeks – Norbert Teufelberger. Shareholders will start to see over the coming months and years whether Ryan was the more intelligent of the two of them all along. Does it mean Norbert will finally start to get involved in more of those dirty unregulated markets that he likes so much? Is he just a power hungry narc? Or is Ryan simply not really bothered anymore? Only time – or the stock market – will tell…

Microgaming rebrands its Poker Network to the ‘MPN’

Microgaming, the world’s largest provider of online gaming software, announces the re-brand of its main poker network to the ‘MPN’ and the launch of its new website.

The MPN, formerly called the Microgaming Poker Network, has undergone a significant transformation over the past two years, encompassing sweeping changes to its design, architecture and game offering.

Lydia Melton, Microgaming Head of Network Games, commented, “The rebrand of the network to MPN and the launch of the network website are both significant milestones for Microgaming poker.”

The rebrand to ‘MPN’ marks the culmination of a project, initiated in January 2010, which includes the following changes:
- A new poker lobby, designed for both beginner and advanced players, rolling out to operators over Q4 2012 and Q1 2013;
- A re-architecture of the poker platform, live January 2010;
- A new Flash client, rolling out alongside the new poker lobby;
- An HTML5 client;
- Blaze Poker;
- Anonymous Tables;
- Joint promotions with key operators, live December 2012;
- True Value, a unique and patent-pending rake allocation model;
- The formation of the Network Management Board, the industry’s first operator/network board, which works to shape the development roadmap and strategies for the entire MPN, and is now a year old.

The final steps in this process are the re-brand of the poker network and the launch of the network website. Success of the project can be clearly quantified. Over the last several weeks, announcements have been made for new operators joining the network, including Betsson, BetVictor and iGame Malta. Additional operators have signed with Microgaming and intend to launch over the coming weeks.

“We are approaching our 10th year in operation, and we are stronger than ever,” added Melton, “However, we will not be resting on our laurels. What we have done with all these changes is build the framework for a scalable and sustainable network. Now that the framework is in place, we are more flexible, resilient and adaptable to change.”

UK publishes draft gambling act revisions for wary industry to contemplate

The UK Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) published its long-awaiting draft legislation on Monday.

The Draft Gambling (Licensing & Advertising) Bill amends existing legislation to require all operators that advertise and accept bets from UK customers to obtain a license and pay tax on UK wagers.

Changes were first proposed back in mid-2011, followed by a period of industry consultation. It received the expected mention in the 2012 budget, and the legislation could be adopted by the end of 2014.

The existing system, introduced in the 2005 Gambling Act, saw the creation of the new UK Gambling Commission to oversee the licensing and regulation of online gaming in the UK along with traditional gambling. Since 2005, all operators in the UK are required to apply for a license and pay 15% tax on gross profits.

However, it also introduced a “white list” of foreign jurisdictions, which includes all the European Economic Area, Gibraltar, Alderney, Isle of Man, Tasmania and Antigua and Barbuda. Companies in these areas may continue to operate in the UK while avoiding the UK’s high levy. The result was the vast majority of the online gambling moved offshore.

The new bill thus proposes a switch to a “point of consumption tax,” meaning the location of the bettor, not the operator, is the deciding factor on what tax must be paid. Under the new legislation, rake collected by a poker room attributed to a player in the UK will be subject to taxation.

The current tax of 15% on gross profits introduced in 2005 has been deemed too high by many in the industry. The new draft bill does not specify a tax rate. The DCMS itself recently released a report that concluded that the 15% taxation forced many online operators offshore, and if maintained when switching to a point of consumption tax could lead to 40% of the industry leaving the market.

William Hill has strongly opposed the plan and is considering its legal options.

In the “impact assessment” report in the draft bill, it concludes that “the proposals are cost- and benefit-neutral to British-based remote gambling operators, as there will be no additional costs and may even be some … marginal net benefits in relation to fees.”

The point does not apply for the majority of operators, who are no longer “British-based” since the introduction of the 2005 legislation. Although there are approximately 100 active licenses issued by the UKGC to online operators, most are smaller casino and bingo sites; nearly all major online poker rooms and bookmakers are based in white-listed jurisdictions.

The bill promises an easy transition for these operators, with a transitional period where operators receive automatic provisional licenses.

“The proposals not designed to duplicate the work of other regulators or to unnecessarily increase burdens imposed on operators,” it also states. Operators in unspecified “well-regulated jurisdictions” will not face significant increases in licensing costs.

Beyond the increased costs of operation, which may be a cost partially passed on to the customer, online poker players should see little change to the introduction of the new legislation. There is no requirement for segregating the player pool, reducing stakes and games spread, or other such restrictions.