A subsidiary of Austrian gaming firm Novomatic Group has acquired US-based social and mobile games developer AbZorba Games.
Novomatic’s Malta-licensed online software subsidiary Greentube acquired a 100% stake in Abzorba for an undisclosed sum. Greentube supplies gaming content to operators including Rank and Sky and holds B2C licenses in Italy and the German state of Schleswig-Holstein.
AbZorba, which is based in Delaware but keeps its R&D in Athens, Greece, notched 4m installs of its social casino games as of last March. AbZorba CEO Andrew Hughes said his group was “absolutely thrilled” to be joining the Novomatic family, while Greentube CEO Thomas Graf said AbZorba’s game library “perfectly supplements” the Novomatic Interactive offering.
PLAYSTUDIOS ADDS ALLEGIANT AIR REWARDS
Playstudios, the developers behind MGM Resorts’ popular myVEGAS social casino title, has added air travel to the list of non-gaming amenities available to Real World Rewards program members. Playstudios has inked a deal with Las Vegas-based budget airline Allegiant Air to allow myVEGAS players to earn points that can be redeemed for flights and tour packages.
Playstudios CEO Andrew Pascal said myVEGAS players in the over 100 US cities served by Allegiant Air would be stoked at the opportunity to earn travel rewards to popular vacation destinations. Playstudios raised $20m in October to fund what Pascal described as “opportunistic’ expansion plans.
BETTAGIFT SHAKES UP SOCIAL SPORTS BETTING
Finally, UK-based Eclectic Gaming Solutions is looking to do something different from the traditional social sports betting offering. Their Bettagift.com site allows players to make a wager and then ‘gift’ that wager to someone special, who receives a text message notifying them of the gift.
Should the wager pay off, the lucky recipient of the gifted bet wins the prize the giver selected in advance, which could be anything from football-themed DVD collections, bicycles, iPads, Sony PS4 consoles or GoPRO cameras. However, depending on the prize selected and the details of the wager, these gifts can be significantly pricier than handing someone a lottery scratch card, which may discourage adoption.
Eclectic Gaming, which is licensed by the UK Gambling Commission, is primarily focused on football betting but also plans to offer entertainment-themed props. Bettagift is available as a bolt-on for operators to incorporate into their offering, and a white-label solution allows operators to rebrand certain elements to fit their particular needs. The product is available in both web app and mobile websites, with native iOS and Android apps scheduled to follow.
