Ladbrokes

“The smaller unit would be more like a convenience store where people could come in and out quickly, suiting younger people in more of a hurry.”

That means one side would be a glorified chillout zone with next door the world’s first betting shop/night club fusion. We live in hope.

It was down to Hills to remind the borough council’s licencing sub-committee of the Gambling Commission guidelines on gaming machines.

“When Parliament passed the Gambling Act, one of its principal objectives was to limit the number of high-stakes, high-prize gaming machines on the High Street,” said Philip Kolvin, legal representative at William Hill.

“This was partly to limit the potential harm to vulnerable people,” he added.

The act referred to concerns that allowed only four “high-stake” gaming machines per premises. Splitting the shop in two would allow eight and however much the interior of the two premises were changed that would still be the case.

Ladbrokes had planned to spend around £280,000 redesigning the premises and will now have to go back to the drawing board to create their “old and new” gambling premises. As for Hills they can mark one down in the win column for now and be glad they had their eye on the ball. Us… we were hoping both sides would be up next week on Harry Hill’s TV Burp. FIGHT!!!

Business News

At the moment betting companies pay a 15% tax on their profits, but they can avoid that by basing their online operations in other international locations (like how Betfair moved to Gibraltar), with 18 of the 20 main bookmakers in the country doing just that. Hancock’s bill, which was debated in the commons yesterday, would close this “loophole” by levying the tax where the punter makes the bet as opposed to where the bookmaker is based.

MP Hancock and Ladbrokes‘ Head of PR, Ciaran O’Brien, joined Channel Four News’ TV studio last night to discuss the possibility of such regimes.

When comparing gambling to food and entertainment, and asked “why should betting have extra tax slapped on it”, Hancock said: “There’s a long-standing tradition of having a tax on betting in this country – but there’s also a levy paid on bet’s that go on horseracing, which pays for the product, the race to go on, the prize money, to ensure that we have great racing on which the profits from the bookies are made.

“So it’s part of the economy of bookmaking and racing that in order to have good profits for bookmakers we need to have good racing and that levy is an important part of the mix too.”

O’Brien responded that the gambling industry is already very highly taxed. “British based companies, like Ladbrokes, at the moment are paying £1 billion in tax and are only making about £600 million in profit from it,” he said. “The important thing is this proposal must be done in a sustainable way.”

He continued: “The Last time the government looked at this in 2005, they set the rate online at 15%. That was never going to be sustainable; it encouraged businesses to locate offshore – it meant British based businesses like Ladbrokes couldn’t compete and we were forced to watch our customer relocate to competitors. And that’s not sustainable for levy, for competition or consumer protection.”

When asked whether his proposed bill was in fact killing the UK’s economy and not helping it to grow, Hancock responded: “I respect Ladbrokes argument that they wouldn’t mind being part of a level playing field in the UK. But if your competitors are allowed to move offshore then of course there’s competitive pressure for you to move offshore too. I want to see all UK betting British so the appropriate tax and correct levy is paid.

“The arguments that the 15% tax on profits is too high, I can understand and it should be looked at but it’s hardly good for the UK to have 18 of its 20 biggest betting companies having jobs going offshore  because of the system that’s set up at the moment, so I think it’d be good for growth to bring it all back onshore.”

Hancock argued that there are hundreds of small, independent bookmakers who are based in the UK who are too small to go down the “avoidance route of offshore” and there isn’t a level playing field for them, either, as they need to pay the tax, agreeing with O’Brien that “we need a fair system.”

When posed the question “why didn’t Ladbrokes keep their operations in Britain like Coral and Bet365”, O’Brien argued those companies too have made it clear if things don’t change for the better they’ll need to move their operations to a different location.

“Let’s remember; we’re a big retail operator who pays more taxes in the UK than we’re making profits, so we welcome a review,” O’Brien said. “Let’s get a sustainable level of tax on this industry that enables it continues it to sustain level of employment and the levy economic growth and that means a sensible rate of tax.”

Welcoming the constructive response from O’Brien, Hancock concluded: “We’ve got some great racing in the UK and we need to keep it that way – making sure the industry prospers in the years to come.”

The treasury are consulting on aspects of the bill at the moment and the Budget, due to be held on 21 March this year, will outline the government’s plans in more detail. Will Hancock’s bill succeed in getting UK betting companies’ operations back on British soil? Or is it just another way for the government to make easy money, while making it more difficult for gambling businesses to grow?

Legal News

“We also have homes for the elderly. Having a betting shop at the entrance to the market will have a bad effect on them – encouraging spending of pensions on gambling instead of on wellbeing.”

There is in fact scientific research, by the venerable Dr Patrick Basham, that locating betting shops in communities in fact improves the wellbeing of elderly and senior persons. He stated retirees that “remain active in the community and constantly engage in social activity, often, largely or exclusively through gambling, live happier and healthier lives.”

A man has admitted seven counts of robbery or attempted robbery after wreaking havoc at betting premises across the South East. Martin Reilly, 53, pocketed £23,000 in a campaign that lasted over a year. It targeted predominantly Ladbrokes and Coral shops. The defendant got away with it for so long thanks to all manner of disguises. He used fancy dress to look like Elvis, a fisherman, hockey player and many more. As he was of no fixed abode we can only assume he was rifling through the bins to find his next disguise at every turn. The robberies took place across a large geographical area including Essex, Bedfordshire, Surrey, Sussex, and Hampshire before finishing off in the big smoke – London. The campaign started in Northants and in addition to the earlier robbery counts he’s up on eight counts of possession of an imitation firearm. He’ll find out his fate on April 2.

Business News

Prima Networks has inked a deal to supply Quickfire casino software to Italy’s Media Providing, a subsidiary of BP Holding Ltd. The Milan-based company supplies a number of AAMS-approved sites with sports betting, horse racing, bingo and poker software, but Alessio Bariletti said the addition of Prima’s “first-rate product gives us a competitive boost in the online casino landscape.”

Ladbrokes has hired virtual marketing tag management firm TagMan to “become more agile in the way it adds, edits and removes on-site tracking tags.” Lads is the first gaming sector client to hire Tagman to help measure and optimize its online marketing campaigns.

Aussie bookmakers Betstar have hired creative agency Whybin/TBWA Melbourne to help grow and develop the Betstar brand, with the first campaign expected in the first quarter of this year.

BetGenius Ltd. has licensed its Connextra video advertising banner technology to Paddy Power. The deal will deliver live dealer casino video to online creative in Paddy’s online marketing campaigns.

Betfair is the new sponsor of the Kingmaker meeting at Warwick Racecourse, scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 11. The betting exchange’s Tony Calvin humbly suggested that the deal “cements my belief that we are set – if we are not already – to become the most significant bookmaking sponsor in the sport in 2012.”

Business News

It comes a matter of weeks after the BGC confirmed a blacklist would be drawn up to protect local firms and with it came the reality for Norbert Teufelberger that he didn’t want to be banged up in some Belgian cell for the night. Either that or he’s saving face in the “we’re not criminals, PokerStars are” battle.

Naessens confirmed that La Dernière Heure, a company that sounds suspiciously like the French-translation for the buttocks, and a number of smaller local operators have applied. Two companies that have chosen to stay out of it are StanleyBet and Ladbrokes. Surprising due to the fact they’re the largest land-based sports betting outlets in the country and Naessens confirmed “two of the most important land-based [betting] operators” had expressed an interest in the gaming licences. Neither has applied and as Naessens put it they “will not have first-mover advantage.”

The lists being drawn up will be separate depending on which product is being offered and the clamp down will be on companies offering their services via a dot.com domain. Whether this will affect international companies operating through other domains is unclear with Naessens simply stating: “If they keep offering dot.com poker they could lose their betting licence – they would need to close down their dot.com room.”

Business News

The Casino Association of South Africa (CASA) released figures on Wednesday showing the domestic gambling industry had boosted gross revenues 5% in 2011. The eighth annual Survey of Casino Entertainment (read it here) reported gross revenues of R17.14b (US $2.176b), from which the industry contributed R4.5b ($571m) in taxes to the government. While 55% of South African gamblers play the lottery, casino gambling was far and way the most lucrative form of gambling, accounting for 89.8% of total revenues. The province of Gauteng was the star performer, generating 41% of total revenues, followed by KwaZulu-Natal (19%) and the Western Cape (15%).

CASA CEO Derek Auret warned that the “macro-economic stability” that allowed revenues to keep rising appeared to be at risk, as punters struggle with more pressing concerns, such as inflation and increases in property rates and utility costs. Reminding the government that the casino industry not only handed over a fat wad in taxes every year but also accounted for some 52k jobs, Auret said it was in the national interest that legislators “should approach with great caution the imposition of further regulatory restrictions or demands that may threaten the profitability of the casino industry and its ability to create jobs.”

Auret also highlighted the findings of an Ipsos Markinor report as to the socio-economic profile of the average casino gambler. The report found 85% of casino gamblers imposed spending limits of R600 or less per visit, and 23% of that spending went for non-gambling amenities. Auret said the findings also revealed that the “overwhelming majority of casino visitors live in built homes, use their own transport to get to casinos and have a very high awareness of the National Responsible Gambling Programme … given the relatively high cost of entry and participation, casinos do not attract the very poor.”

Online gambling on anything other than sports is prohibited in South Africa, and CASA takes the position that should legislators see fit to broaden the scope of this offering, the number of online gambling licenses should be strictly controlled, and land-based casinos “because of their already licensed and regulated status, should be given priority to bid.” (Anyone else think CASA execs would fit in well in Nevada?)

As far as online sportsbooks already in operation, Ladbrokes’ fledgling offering has infuriated local punters after removing the option to make in-running bets on the recent one-day cricket match between South Africa and Sri Lanka. Ladbrokes SA marketing manager Anli Kotze told Business Day that Lads’ technicians had taken the in-running market offline to better manage traffic on the Ladbrokes.co.za site, a move that Kotze admitted had resulted in Lads losing “some important business … [the technicians] should have removed other matches that were less popular.” Further fueling punter pouting was the fact that the wagers remained an option on Ladbrokes.com, where South Africans are barred from opening an account. Foul play…

Business News

William Hill

Figures for the fourth quarter were bundled in with the full year and showed over the counter amounts wagered rising by11% and machine gross win also up 7%.

Hills also announced a tie up with Inspired Gaming Group for exclusive rights to provide its licensed betting offices (LBOs) with gaming machines. Inspired already supplies Hills with 79% of its total machines and under the agreement they’ll fill the short fall with a deal lasting until 2016. The bookmaker retains the right to switch back to a agreement where they can have two company’s machines at any time.

Fellow traditional bookie Ladbrokes has made its first plunge into the US market by acquiring a 65% stake in Stadium Technology Group. The Vegas-based supplier surrendered the stake in exchange for $3m with the remaining 35% available to buy over the next five years on a performance related basis. Stadium supplies software and in game betting apps to sportsbooks in Nevada and Delaware with a number of reputable casinos on its order list.

Ladbrokes Chief Executive Richard Glynn commented: “The size of the US market and potential for positive regulatory change in the coming years make it a sensible place to establish a presence. Stadium Technology is already one of the key software suppliers to casinos in Nevada and Delaware and it has the potential to expand.”

It could be a very long-term decision indeed. Sports betting, thanks to opposition in the first instance from sports leagues, won’t see legalization in our lifetime and the roll out of intrastate gaming will take a bit of time yet as well. Gaining a foothold in the market is a good move for any gaming industry firm.

Business News

There are a number of ideas flying round as to how the country’s gambling industry can go in the right direction. Minister for agriculture Simon Coveney has control over the country’s horse racing industry and thinks that a change in tax is the way to go. Bookmakers are supporting a change in the 1% turnover tax to a 10% levy on gross profits. It would provide more money to the state (€3million) as well as help smaller independent bookies.

In total, Ireland has around 1,102 bookies and a combination of a loss of punters in store and online competition has seen revenue fall drastically. To remedy the shortfall in numbers, Lewins is supporting plans for opening hours being extended. It would mean shops able to stay open until 9:30pm six days a week from September to April. At the moment the only late night opening is on Friday.

More interesting is that bookies want to be allowed to let customers use tablet PCs, owned by the shops themselves, to make bets whilst on the premises thus competing with online betting. The three suggestions put together would generate an extra €10m in tax taken from betting on a yearly basis. Bookmakers suffering is not something that anyone likes to see given that they’re very often the social gathering point for small communities and we can only hope that Ireland gets out of its current rut.

Business News

Ladbrokes Ireland CEO Joe Lewins has told the Irish Times that worsening economic conditions could result in the shuttering of up to 150 betting shops across the Republic, leading to the loss of up to 600 jobs. Lewins’ dire projections are part of a campaign to convince Irish politicians to change the bookmaking tax formula from 1% of turnover to 10% of gross profits. The man responsible for the Republic’s horse racing/breeding sectors, Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney, is seeking submissions from the betting industry on how best to proceed.

In other Lads news, the Danish High Court has ruled that a 2008 Lads ad campaign infringed on the trademark of Denmark’s monopoly gaming provider Danske Spil. The campaign in question centered around the phrase “Danske spil Engelske Odds” (Danish games, English odds). However, Lads won’t face any sanctions as a result of the ruling, as eGamingReview reports that Danske Spil was simultaneously found guilty of breaching the country’s marketing act at Lads’ expense. Since neither party was considered to have suffered more harm at the hands of the other, the Court essentially called it a case of offsetting penalties. Now go and sin no more…

Fresh off becoming Official Supporter and Betting Partner of the Football Association, William Hill has signed a sports sponsorship deal with online news outlet The Global Herald. The deal, effective Jan. 10, will see Hills branding splashed across the Herald’s fabled sports section. Hills has also appointed former Rugby Football Union PR man Richard Prescott as its new PR director.

Spread bettors London Capital Group (LCG) released a trading statement claiming full-year revenues rose 13% to £39m in 2011. The average number of trades per day rose 10.8% to 33,042, while its institutional foreign exchange arm increased divisional profit by 10%. LCG also announced the appointment of Axiom Legal’s Martin Creek as group legal counsel. Creek has previously offered legal advice to UBS Investment Bank and Barclays Capital.

Finally, Gaming Laboratories International has named John van Schaijk as new technical director of its European offshoot, GLI Europe. Van Schaijk previously did time as WMS Gaming’s director of product management in Spain.

Business News

Ladbrokes

They seem to extinguish any rumors that this is another one of Glynn’s attempts to get a more permanent sleeping partner and comes after failed flirtations with 888 and Sportingbet last year.

New kid on the London land-based block samvo has appointed Jesper Jensen as new head of trading and sportsbook. Many of you will recognize Jensen after he co-founded software firm EveryMatrix back in 2008. His role at samvo, a firm that alternates between rejuvenating the land-based betting experience and issuing orders to gamblin’ drinkin’ and carryin’ on sites, focuses on developing new and existing betting products. After accepting the role, he said: “samvo appealed to me for a number of reasons – its culture, spirit and dynamic team match my own work ethic.  The opportunity to be part of such a forward focusing company with a passion for change was too good to miss.”

Bally Technology CEO and director Richard Haddrill has been elected new board chairman of the American Gaming Association (AGA). Haddrill served as vice chairman of the AGA for the past two years and was sworn in by fellow members of the board. He follows Boyd Gaming CEO Keith Smith in the role as chairman and James Murren, CEO of MGM Resorts, takes his relinquished position as vice chairman of the AGA.

Business News

Sport

But the vast number of sporting events means that not all matches, games, competitions and tournaments can be covered live. Even when it comes to the English Premier League – the most watched football league in the world – less than half of each week’s games are shown live.

For the online gambling industry, herein lies an opportunity.

Just as high street bookmakers bring in punters who are able to watch horse races live on screen in stores, iGaming operators can attract customers with the promise of being able to watch your own team every week. This means that rather than waiting to watch highlights or listening on local radio, fans are able to watch the team that they are most interested in.

For operators, greater interest usually means a higher likeliness of a flutter taking place. It also means that in cases where customers do watch their favourite team, there’s a good chance that heart may end up ruling head.

Of course this idea goes hand in hand with in-play betting and together could prove to be an excellent way of acquiring customers. Unsurprisingly, one of the most impressive iGaming companies in the UK – Bet365,  is already looking to capitalise on this opportunity.

In order to offer this service, the Stoke based company have partnered with the Perform Group whose Watch & Bet platform is proving extremely popular – and rightly so.

The company’s website boasts agreements with 200 rights holders and claims to offer a selection of more than 11,800 live events every year – on average that’s more than 32 events every day.

Coverage from Perform is so comprehensive that you are able to watch the SAFF Championships, BWF Badminton, KFC Twenty20, Beach Soccer and many many more. If you have no idea what half of those events are, don’t worry because you won’t be alone in most cases. But someone will know what they are and these people may even have a bet on the events in question.

As a result of the choice and impressive service on offer from Perform, more than 30 online bookmakers have teamed up with the UK based company. This selection includes heavy hitters William Hill, bwin and Unibet as well as bet365.

But as is often the case, bet365 have taken it that one step further and in doing so have created a product that is sure to prove popular. This is Mobile Watch & Bet which was launched just last month and offers a similar service but from mobile phones. It means that users of Android and iOS devices will be able to stream a large selection of events straight onto their phones.

Speaking at the time of the release, bet365′s CTO Martin Davies said: “We are taking mobile very seriously. There’s a similar excitement as 10 years ago when we started to explore the full potential of the Internet”.

Of course, streaming to mobile does have its drawbacks for the operator, for example the screen size means that a compromise has to be made regarding the betting options that are on view during a game. bet365′s answer to this issue is to ensure that customers have to have deposited in order to be able to watch the match. While this is a good idea in principle it may need some tweaking before it is the finished article.

What does hold more potential as a product is the tablet version of Watch & Bet which bet365 have promised us will appear in 2012.

But bet365 aren’t alone, Ladbrokes have stepped into this ultra-modern mobile streaming world while staying true to their traditional bookmaker roots.

Their customers are able to watch UK and Irish horse racing on their mobiles as of December. However the service is currently only available on iPhones but there are plans in place to extend the service to Android devices and other operating systems in the near future.

Ladbrokes’ way of getting round the conversion issues presented by mobile streaming is to require customers not only to deposit money into their account but also to place a £1 bet.

These are just some of the attempts to take control of what the Global Betting and Gambling Consultancy estimate to be a $2.7 billion mobile gambling industry.

Lorien Pilling, research director at GBGC spoke about the mobile industry following the release of a report on the industry.

She said: “After a decade of disappointment and largely unfolded promises from 3G mobile services in all sectors, not just gambling, the influential factors seem to be aligning to enable mobile gambling to be a more substantial contributor to operators’ earnings.”

But while the examples used above mainly concern the UK market, its important to note that the opportunities to take advantage of limited broadcasting aren’t just confined to the Premier League obsessed UK.

Asian Logic have taken the early lead in Asia with 12Bet TV. This impressive service has the best coverage of Pacific-Asia sporting events and also includes a healthy dose of European and American sports as well.

To highlight just how much choice is on offer with 12Bet, just look at the number of events being streamed on any given day. Wednesday January 3 saw more than 15 events being shown.

The advent of this new feature is sure to be a big deal for operators all over the world. But it’s doesn’t just provide opportunities for operators as affiliates have a chance to cash in as well.

Although searches are currently low, if operators promote these services well enough then interest is bound to rise. Competition is still low for the main keywords associated with the live streaming services meaning that there are definite opportunities to find yourself ranking well when it comes to live betting and streaming.

Given the potential that live streaming and mobile/tablet streaming have, there seems to be very little talk about them. Surely this will change as operators and their customers wake up to the sports streaming opportunities on offer.

Business News

After bets that pop star Katy Perry and British comedian Russell Brand would divorce was among the top of the UK bookies’ props last year – coming true only last week –  it appears Willy Hill deemed Hollywood actress Liz Hurley’s romance with cricketer Shane Warne to be 2012’s first showbiz relationship heading for the gutter. Hurley and Warne’s odds on a celebrity split are 4/1 on William Hill’s online book. Would you put a quid on it?

Other celeb love props on WilliamHill.com include Take That star Jason Orange and his relationship with comedienne Catherine Tate, with a break up this year at 8/1, and Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie – along with parents-to-be Beyonce and Jay-Z – both at 25/1.

However,  newlywed Prince William and bride Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, have a rock solid romance – with William Hill offering odds of 100/1 on them splitting, and just 2/5 on them announcing the first celebrity pregnancy of 2012.

Other non-celebrity split novelty bets on the books at the moment include Rupert Murdoch and his his very own set of “Twitter Specials” on Ladbrokes.com, with “@rupertmurdoch to be most followed account on twitter at any point in 2011” at 25/1. Other Murdoch Twitter specials include “@rupertmurdoch to permanently delete his twitter account in 2013” at 5/6 and “@rupertmurdoch to be following over 100.5 people by the end of Jan 2013” at 6/4. Which one would you throw a few bob at?

Entertainment News

Ladbrokes is launching a new smart TV advertising campaign that will air on the Rovi Advertising Network. The bookie will be able to “deploy capabilities like in-depth multimedia graphics and video as part of their advertising campaigns.” The ads currently run on Samsung Smart TVs and Blu-Ray players and will become more and more important as television evolves onto the next level. Although Smart TV is in its infancy at the moment, Betfair already has a smart TV deal with Samsung and has had an app on the system for around 18 months. Little bit late for the first boat there, Lads.

One industry that interests both of the above firms is horseracing and we’re starting to see the disastrous effect adverse weather had on last year’s calendar with Northern Racing’s disappointing end of year figures. Managing director, Tony Kelly, attributed full blame for the loss of 24 fixtures to a fall in revenues of 4.2% to £29.5m with operating profits down 18.5% to £2.2m in the year to end of March 2011. The company is owned by the Reuben Brothers and could soon be part of a group that encompasses 16 courses if they assume full control of Arena Leisure.

Business News

Much of this speak was inspired by the merging of bwin and PartyGaming to create bwin.party Digital Entertainment. This deal was hailed as one of the industry’s biggest and created one super iGaming company that represented an impressive 12% of the entire industry play.

The merging of the two company’s affiliate programs earlier this month signals that there is at least one deal that is here to stay. Rather than dealing with Bewinners or PartyPartner, affiliates will soon have the pleasure of dealing with one affiliate program that operates across multiple brands.

bwin.party Digital Entertainment is now very much alive and well after suffering a rocky patch in terms of share prices. However, the company is still some way away from being the all-engulfing super iGaming company that some had predicted or even feared.

This super company’s failure to realise its true potential has been touted as one of the major factors that have contributed to the lack of mergers across the industry. Effectively smaller iGaming companies are taking note that joining forces certainly isn’t a one-way ticket up easy street.

Back in August, Bodog Europe chief executive Patrik Selin spoke to Calvin Ayre about mergers. He certainly subscribed to the view that some were being put off by bwin.party’s trials and tribulations.

He explained: “So far in this industry we’ve only seen one big merger and that is the pwin merger and for me it’s not shown any success so far.

“It’s a tricky road to move forward to do these things because there are no obvious benefits if you merge two companies of the same size.

“You will have two years where you’re standing still before you can move ahead and those two years are going to cost you. We’re seeing the same thing now with the pwin merger that they’ve been standing still now more or less for over a year.”

Selin’s pessimism regarding the success of mergers is certainly well founded and is by no means a new one. Twelve months ago, he spoke to eGaming Review and argued that global domination was far from guaranteed for the company. He also expressed his feelings that mergers weren’t going to be quite as common as many were suggesting.

It’s now the end of 2011 and Selin is well and truly vindicated. Rumours and even talks have mergers have come and gone throughout the year. However, there have been some close calls.

Ladbrokes

The popular UK bookmaker was one of the companies that many thought were most likely to form some kind of deal in the iGaming industry. This reasoning was due to CEO Richard Glynn’s plans to rejuvenate the digital side of the business, which included intent to join forces with or acquire a pureplay operator with a better understanding of the market.

However, Ladbrokes’ two highest profile talks of the year ended unsuccessfully. The first came with 888 Holdings but the deal officially collapsed after four months of talks in April. During this time, 888 CEO Gigi Levy announced his departure for the company just before the announcement regarding the termination of talks was made.

Six months on and news surfaced that Ladbrokes’ talks with Sportingbet were terminated. This time the problem between the two was Sportingbet’s Turkish business, which Ladbrokes opposed. Unfortunately, the risk was deemed to great and another of Ladbrokes’ potential deals passed them by.

For Sportingbet, this wasn’t the only time that they dipped their toe into to merger water either as talks with Unibet ultimately proved fruitless. Even their reported attempt to re-launch the deal in March this year ended unsuccessfully.

Joint Ventures

Then there was of course the talk regarding a joint venture between Playtech and Ladbrokes. The supposed talks that took place were deemed so serious by Ladbrokes’ rivals William Hill that an injunction was taken out to prevent further discussions.

Any iGaming companies that were still eying up a joint venture as a way of easing themselves into the merger frame of mind will surely have now been put off.

Staff boycotts, resignations and break-ins to secure servers must have been enough to scare many a company – one thing is for sure, Hills are likely to pick a partner much more carefully next time.

The US

Despite the high number of factors weighing up in the argument against mergers, one issue means that there could still be a large number of iGaming companies finding a friend in the near future. This is of course the US and the opportunities available to enter the market.

Conventional wisdom appears to currently suggest that the best way for iGaming operators to make their way into the US market is to join forces with a company already based over there. This is going to come in the form of casino companies and has already taken place in some instances.

888 has managed to overcome the heartbreak sustained by their failed Ladbrokes deal to lead the charge in this way. The Gibraltar-based company has formed a deal with Caesars and will look to operate in the US with or without the use of their 888 brand.

Bearing this in mind, there is hope for mergers but as Selin said earlier this year “it’s a tricky road.”

Business News

Is this refinancing?

Ladbrokes has agreed to a deal that will refinance its debt to a more manageable level. The new five-deal deal is worth £540million and replaces the £560million facility that was set to mature in 2013. The new blended rate of interest for the group will be 7.5% in 2012 and chief financial officer Ian Bull commented: “We are pleased to have extended the maturity profile of our debt with these new facilities and welcome the support our lenders have shown in the business. The new arrangements, together with our proven track record for strong cash generation, mean the business is on a strong footing as we continue to invest in our plan to reinvigorate Ladbrokes.”

Sportingbet has announced that both three non-executive directors will stand down from their positions. eGR reports that former CEO Nigel Payne and Sean O’Connor will both stand down at the December 16 AGM with Brian Harris to stand down next year. Payne guided the company as CEO from 2001 to 2006 before handing over the role to Andy McIver after helping to put the firm up on London’s Stock Exchange. Marketing man Chris Moss and former investment banker Rory Macnamara will replace Payne and O’Connor.

Betclic Everest is set to release a woeful set of figures for the past six months. The losses, which, according iGaming France, could be up to €66.2m, are down to the treacherous conditions that the French market presents to anyone that relies on it. The news came after La Societe des Bains de Mer, which owns 50% of the group, saw losses increase to €33.1, in the first half of the current financial year. Former Betclic chairman Stephane Courbit, who loudly heckled France’s iGaming market last year, is being proved right and it shows the country’s market is in dire need of a change.

Business News

The project, which is estimated to have set back Thomas £30m, will include three floors of gambling, four bars, a theatre and restaurant. Did we also mention the rooftop gambling rooms where you can smoke, drink and gamble at the same time? This takes gamblin’ drinkin’ and carryin’ on to a new level.

A career criminal has been given six years at Her Majesty’s pleasure after fleecing a bookmaker. Gary McGuire robbed a branch of Ladbrokes in Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire on May 24, 2010 using a mask. He threatened the cashier with a knife and stole £300. The thief admitted to assaulting the woman and forcing his way behind the counter to steal the money. Robberies at betting shops are very rare and almost always solved thanks to the excellent CCTV installed in most premises.

William Hill has launched a campaign with Crimestoppers to try and halt the number of robberies at its shops in North Liverpool. The campaign encourages members of the public to contact Crimestoppers anonymously to report crimes with rewards of up to £10,000 being offered by the Association of British Bookmakers.

Rob King, William Hill’s Security Intelligence Manager, added: “This is an exciting opportunity for us to get involved with Crimestoppers as our number one priority is to make our shops a safe environment for staff and customers. Reducing crime with the arrest of offenders is one way of doing this and Crimestoppers plays a really important part in making this happen. By working together we can do our bit to ensure that people who have information about criminal activity can pass this on anonymously, whether it is crime happening in a bookmakers or anywhere else in the community.”

To create awareness of the campaign, leaflets are being distributed and posters being put up in the local area to encourage informants to come forward.

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As belts tighten across Europe, Ladbrokes has followed William Hill’s lead in offering odds on which country will be first to ditch the Euro as their currency. Ladbrokes has also started offering its customers the ability to wager on the Toronto Stock Exchange and, if you truly can’t get enough Canadiana, you can also bet on the fluctuating exchange rate between the US and Canadian dollars. Ladbrokes is offering bets on individual companies listed on the TSX S&P 60 Index, or on how the overall index performs – in intervals as brief as two minutes or, for those with longer attention spans, over a whole trading day. The possibility of company execs using insider knowledge to game the system might worry the Ontario Securities Commission, that is, if they had any jurisdiction over Lads’ antics.

Widnes, Cheshire-based online sportsbook ApolloBET, which just launched in July, has signed a one-year deal with local pro rugby team Widnes Vikings, entitling ApolloBET to have their logo on the team’s kit and on the stadium boards. Elsewhere, Bwin.party has signed a two-year deal with German handball team THW Kiel that will see the Pwin logo adorn the team’s shorts. We’re seriously resisting the urge to say Pwin execs were trying to get into German handballers’ shorts.

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Paddy Power

They weren’t just going to leave us hanging with one piece of news though. Paddy’s second piece of news was that a takeover of Cayetano was completed. The Bulgarian games developer has created a number of games for online and mobile gaming markets and has an HQ on the Isle of Man. The amount being paid for the firm was not revealed, though Patrick Kennedy, chief executive at Paddy Power, did add: “Cayetano is one of the best developers of its kind in the egaming sector and its acquisition will provide Paddy Power with a compelling range of online gaming products as well as a new internal source of gaming development expertise.”

Ladbrokes have been busy after announcing customers will now be able to stream AtTheRaces live coverage from mobile devices. iPhone users are the first to benefit from the service that is available to any customers to have bet £1. It means mobile punters (or should we called them munters?) can watch all live British and Irish races following a similar deal with Racing UK earlier in the year. Richard Ames, Ladbrokes Managing Director, Products commented: “Mobile betting is growing rapidly and Ladbrokes customers have a leading range of services. We continue to develop it and aim to make it the first choice for mobile betting and gaming customers.”

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Head of Business Development at Microgaming, Andy Clucas, said: “We have had a long and successful relationship with Ladbrokes and are delighted to be entering these two exciting markets with them. Once granted a licence, Ladbrokes will be able to offer the most competitive range of products.”

Ladbrokes Spanish facing site, LBApuestas, and its Danish operation will be going live with Microgaming software in January 2012 following the licensing process in both markets. Both sites are expected to have access to an extensive suite of premium casino titles, provided through Microgaming’s Flash and download casino clients.

Director of Corporate and Strategic Development at Ladbrokes, Adam Greenblatt, said: “We have a strong relationship with Microgaming and our players have always reacted well to their products; we are pleased to be working with them as we target new licences in Spain and Denmark, markets familiar to Ladbrokes already.”

Ladbrokes will also be taking Microgaming’s market leading Poker software, meaning Spanish and Danish players will be able to immerse themselves in poker software, games and tournament schedules.

iGaming software supplier EveryMatrix has announced it will provide its GamMatrix gaming management and payment processing platform to Tower Gaming.

According to a press release, the GamMatrix gaming management platform will enable integration of Cake Poker and Net Entertainment casino.  Tower Gaming will continue utilising the OddsMatrix sportsbook that it currently operates.

Tower Gaming CMO, Owen Walsh, said: “We have been looking to upgrade our payments and back office software based on increasing numbers of active players. EveryMatrix was recently commended as White Label Partner of the Year and we already knew they had a solid reputation and business mindset from working together on the sportsbook business. So the choice was an easy one.”

At the EGR 2011 Awards, EveryMatrix also received special commendation as White Label Partner of the Year.

Swedish online gaming firm Cherryforetagen – that operates PlayCherry.com, has released its interim financial results for Q3 2011 with 6% year-on-year increase in turnover to $17.86 million.

However, The Stockholm-based company who recently appointed a new COO and operates other sites NorgesAutomaten.com, SverigeAutomaten.com and DanmarksAutomaten.com – also declared that its earnings before interest and tax for the three-month period fell by over 5% year-on-year to $1.7 million. And earnings before interest and tax dropped by almost 11% to $1.33 million. Eeek!

There might have been an unlucky loss in earnings, but the operator reported that the number of active players rose by 186%  40,994 customers when compared with the same period in 2010. That’s something to celebrate then? Additionally, those participating online numbered 31,900, which was a 325.7% year-on-year improvement.

Chief Executive Officer for Cherryforetagen, Emil Sunvisson, said: “The third quarter has brought satisfactory growth in the segment of online gaming at the same time the results were burdened by the costs of launching new products.”

Cherryforetagen stated that deposits swelled by 22.9% year-on-year to $24.85 million while “partially attributing the quarter’s overall fall in earnings to the launch of its EuroLotto product”, which was apparently costly and remains in an “expansionary phase with good growth of customers”.

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Richard Glynn (Ladbrokes) 4/1 favorite

It hasn’t been the best of year’s for head Lad Richard Glynn. After the 8pm.com (888.com) and SportingLads mergers both fell by the wayside, his position is precarious. He could have bitten the bullet over the failed takeover deals and will be at the mercy of the shareholders when they contemplate where exactly the company is going.

Andy McIver (Sportingbet) 6/1

On the other side of one of Glynn’s failed mergers is the head of a company that is aiming to become part of the regulation club. They still only derive 50% of net gaming revenue from regulated markets and while they are public and continue to operate in unregulated territories, his position will remain on the wrong side of uncertain.

Henrik Tjärnström (Unibet) 6/1

There’s an ongoing theme here. If you’ve been involved in a merger during your lifetime as boss then you’ll be right up there. Henrik is no exception. With 18 months under his belt the Swede has overseen a failed merger that would have created Sporting…Sportingbet. Henrik isn’t one to beat around the bush on results’ calls and said he’s seen “little sign yet of any significant impact from the closure of some US-facing competitors.”

Andy Hornby (Gala Coral) 8/1

The man that shares the name with the inventor of model train-sets might be rather perturbed at finding himself in fourth. Hornby only joined the firm back in July, many believing his sole intention in being here is to engineer the smooth transition of a management buyout. The low-lying position of the newest man on the list may have something to do with Gala having a ten-year-deal in place with Playtech. Now we all know what happens when Playtech doesn’t think it’s getting it’s own way don’t we!

Jim Ryan and Norbert Teufelberger (Pwin) 8/1

This time we can really say we’ve saved the best for last. Apart from being by far the most entertaining Punch and Judy combination around these two are always likely to find themselves near the CEO trapdoor thanks to the fact their share price drops more often than a whore’s panties. The past year has seen the PartyGaming and Bwin merger create the “super-mega-fantastic-ginormous-gambling-behemoth” that stands before you. Norb has spent much of the year giving the finger when it comes to anything from being arrested in France to flouting similar laws in Germany. He does, however, like the sound of an American threeway.

The remaining CEOs in the betting are as follows

16/1 – Patrick Kennedy – Paddy Power

20/1 – Patrik Selin – Bodog UK

20/1 – Richard Kilsby – 888

33/1 – Fred Done – BetFred

33/1 – Ralph Topping – William Hill

33/1 – Victor Chandler

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