Betfair ads to target opponents; Betsson release impressive results; Opening in Italy but not in Belgium

betfair betssonBetfair will, for the first time, target other firms as part of their new advertising campaign. The “Don’t Settle For Less” campaign was developed in house and will make price comparisons with competitors for the first time. Peter Marcus, the firm’s UK managing director, said: “This is a simple campaign delivering the clear fact to both existing and potential customers, that Betfair offers far better value than the other bookmakers.”

We’re thinking this must have something to do with their fixed odds offering or are they going to let one lucky customer that lays odds a slot on the ad on a weekly basis? “This week’s lucky customer is Dave from Barnsley!!!”

Scandinavian based Betsson saw revenues and income jump as they released their latest results. For the year of 2011 revenues were up 8% to SEK 1,736.6million and operating income increased by a huge 47% to SEK 559.7m. This included 103,000 more active customers and was in addition to operating income increasing by 35% in the fourth quarter of the year to SEK 1 72.3m. Magnus Silfverberg, President and CEO of Betsson, said: “Betsson now ranks as one of the world’s most influential gaming companies. We have achieved this position thanks to our strong growth and profitability as well as Betsson’s long-term efforts to create attractive gaming solutions for both partners and end users. During the fourth quarter, Betsson has experienced an all-time high in both activity and deposits, while the Group sits at the forefront in the technological development towards a new reregulated reality in Europe.”

In terms of the year to come, the firm is confident the industry will “develop strongly” and that the firm will experience “healthy growth.” The firm also confirmed that they’ve been awarded a licence to operate in Italy and will be launching in the country very soon. He explained that they won’t be applying for a licence in Belgium though, and added: “Our view is their regulation is not in coherence with EU legislation, so we have no plans to apply for that kind of licence.”