In online casino news, Bet365 sign a deal with Williams Interactive, William Hill follow up their tremendous mobile success by launching an iPad app, Ladbrokes can predict the winner of the Nobel Prize of literature without reading a single page and Paddy Power extend their sponsorship deal for Cheltenham.
Bet365 Sign a Deal With Williams Interactive
Williams Interactive LLC and Bet365 have crossed palms with enough silver to bring the WMS Industries Inc. subsidiaries library of slot machine titles to Bet365 Casino, in another move designed to attract yet more punters to the Stoke based site.
“We’re thrilled to offer our players the exciting, unique games experiences from the Williams Interactive catalogue of authentic Vegas-style slot content,” said Bet365 managing director for gaming Steve Ibberson. “Their one-of-a-kind game engines and instantly recognizable game brands are the perfect enhancement to the premium wagering options currently available to our players. Access to online versions of some of the most popular land-based casino games in the world is the type of premium gaming experience players have come to expect from Bet365. We look forward to their response to these exciting new additions from Williams Interactive.”
Bet365 earned £148m profit Apr 2012-Mar 2013, a 34% increase on the previous year, and are seen as the team to follow in the UK bookmaking market. Whilst both Ladbrokes and Betfair are taking out the axe and lopping off the heads of whoever dares put their head above the office desk, Bet365 is increasing it’s workforce with more than 2,500 employees now on the books at the Coates family residences.
One area that Bet365 continue to dominate is the ‘In-Play’ market where the cockney geezer like tones of Ray Winstone can be heard during the commercial breaks on most major footie matches.
“As a man, there’s a part of me that feels I should still be going out and doing a proper days work.’ – Ray Winstone.
You’re not doing too bad my son.
William Hill Launch an iPad Version
It was Onavo who uncovered the sterling work done by William Hill on the mobile front after a Dec 2012 study revealed that 38% of British users preferred the Hills site over it’s competitors (Paddy Power 32%, Bet365 24%, Ladbrokes 9%, Betfair 7% and Betfred/SkyBet 6%).
Hills are obviously not a team to rest on its laurels as it recently launched an online casino version specifically for iPad users. The new Williams Hill Live Casino offering will include four stalwarts of the casino world: live blackjack, live roulette, live casino hold’em and live baccarat, and the news breaks just days after it tied up a deal with Net Entertainment to deliver games to Hills through its Quickfire solution.
“We have worked meticulously on making this an exceptional experience and are delighted to now offer this app to our customers on the world’s most desirable tablet device.” Said Juergen Reutter, Director of mobile at William Hill.
Paddy Power Extends Cheltenham Sponsorship
Everybody’s favorite Irish bookmaker, Paddy Power, have agreed a three-year extension to its sponsorship deal with the highly popular Cheltenham racecourse.
The new terms will see Paddy Power become the title sponsor of the second day of action, which for the next three years will be known as the Paddy Power Open Saturday.
In addition, Paddy Power will continue to sponsor the PaddyPower.com Handicap Chase on the Friday, and Saturday’s feature race The Grade Three Paddy Power Gold Cup.
Cheltenham Festival runs 15th to 17th November and it is expected to attract over 70k eager pre Christmas punters.
Ladbrokes Knows a Nobel Prize Winner When it sees one
Yesterday, I brought you the news on the long list of the William Hill Sports Book of the Year. All in all there were 17 books on that list and I doubt any of them were flimsy to say the least. Given the fact that there are only four people on the judging panel, that’s a hell of a lot of reading.
Or so I thought….
Eric Levenson of the Atlantic Wire has recently written a piece covering the Nobel Prize for Literature and how the odd setting at Ladbrokes, is a more reliable indicator of success than most pundits or literary critics.
Levenson poses the thought: “It’s hard to imagine it {betting odds} doesn’t have some sort of psychological impact on the framing of the debate.”
So how have Lads managed to hit an impressive 50% accuracy rate over the past eight years. Is there a panel within a panel that is feverishly flicking through page after page, before diligently creating the right lines? Not on your Nellie. Instead Lads have a single person who creates the odds who Lads says, ‘has a feel for these things.”
Let’s hope his feel for Murakami at 3/1 is joining the 50% because I’m about to have a punt.
