WEBMASTER NEWS
MICROGAMING SECURES INDIAN FIRST WITH
THRILL POKER LAUNCH
INDIAN ONLINE poker provider Thrill
Poker has become the first company in the
country to go live on Microgaming’s new
MPN India network.
Having established itself in the market
since its launch in 2013, Thrill Poker has
now opted to join forces with the online
gaming software to further enhance its
service offering by migrating all of its
existing traffic to the Microgaming platform.
The new MPN India network is
dedicated to the Indian market and
operates exclusively in Indian Rupees.
Thrill Poker will now become the
first operator to launch on MPN India,
although Microgaming expects to expand
the service with other companies in the
near future.
“Online and offline poker in India
is growing massively in popularity. We
wanted to build an offering which was
market-leading, secure, and robust in
order to provide the best possible poker
experience to Indian players,” Thrill Poker
director Aditya Oberoi said.
“That’s why we chose to partner with
Microgaming, the industry’s software
expert.”
Alex Scott, head of poker at
Microgaming, added: “We have added
another string to our bow with a poker
network dedicated to India; it is a growing
market and we are now well positioned to
capitalise on this.”
SPANISH REGULATOR REVEALS ONLINE
GAMING TURNOVER HIKE IN Q1
SPANISH GAMBLING regulator Dirección
General de Ordenación del Juego (DGOJ)
has revealed that the country’s online
gaming market experienced a significant
year-on-year increase in revenues during
the three months to March 31, up 13.4% to
€77.4 million.
Betting remains the most popular
form of online gambling in the country,
accounting for 50.2% of total game play
during the first quarter.
Online poker attracted 25.2% of total
traffic, casino games were just behind with
23.7% of the market share, while bingo and
other elements accounted for just 0.9% and
0.06% respectively.
Confirmation of this year-on-year
growth came ahead of the entrance of
12 new entrants into the Spanish online
gaming market, which could help boost
revenue further this year.
Eurobet, Novomatic, Net Entertainment,
Bally Interactive and Betclic were among
the operators handed licences on 2 June
and will launch in Spain this year, joining
the likes of William Hill, 888 and bwin.
party that currently hold the majority share
of the market.
The regulator also issued the first
approvals for slot games on 2 June, Playtech
and Microgaming among the first providers
to launch titles on dot.es operator sites.
OPTIMAL PAYMENTS CLOSES IN ON SKRILL
ACQUISITION
ONLINE PAYMENT provider Optimal
Payments has revealed that it is edging
closer to completing its previously agreed
acquisition of rival firm Skrill.
Optimal announced in March it had agreed
a deal to acquire Skrill from Sentinel Group
Holdings in exchange for €720 million
($789.7 million) and 37,493,053 new
ordinary shares.
At the time of the announcement,
Optimal confirmed the reverse takeover
deal was subject to a number of conditions
such as Optimal shareholder approval and
the Sentinel Group obtaining necessary
approvals from relevant US regulatory
authorities to grant the Skrill USA
operation US money transmission licences.
Optimal has now confirmed that a
number of these conditions have been met,
with others also set to be satisfied.
Optimal shareholder approval was
announced in April, Skrill USA has been
granted relevant US money transmission
licences, while the Delaware regulatory
body has issued a satisfactory response in
respect of the deal.
FOOTBALL LEAGUE TO
CONSIDER OPTIONS AFTER
SKY BET DEAL
The English Football League has
struck a deal with current title
sponsor, betting brand Sky Bet, to
search for a new main partner at the
conclusion of the 2015-16 season.
Sky Bet will serve as title sponsor
of the Championship, League One
and League Two divisions for a third
consecutive season during the 201516 campaign and has made an offer
to continue this arrangement for a
further two years.
However, the Football League has
now agreed a deal with Sky Bet that
will allow it to open talks with other
prospective partners over
sponsorship opportunities.
Should the Football League opt for
another title sponsor, Sky Bet will
continue as a betting partner of the
three divisions for the 2016-17 and
2017-18 seasons.
Rob Painter, marketing director of
Sky Betting and Gaming said: “After
a thrilling 2014-15 season including
three exciting play-off finals at the
weekend, we are looking forward to
our third year as title sponsor and our
ongoing partnership with the Football
League over the next three seasons.”
DISNEY ANNOUNCES $250M
DRAFTKINGS INVESTMENT
Entertainment company Walt Disney
Co. has announced plans to invest
$250 million (€228.8 million) in US
fantasy sports operator DraftKings.
According to various reports,
sources close to the deal suggest
the investment will value DraftKings
at approximately $900 million.
Under the agreement, DraftKings
has committed to large advertisi