WEBMASTER NEWS
CHERRY IGAMING, COMEON! UNVEIL BRANDING PLANS
THE CHERRY IGAMING arm of Cherry
AB, and ComeOn! have announced plans
to rebrand the Cherry business area as
‘ComeOn!’, as part of the integration
project between the two companies.
In December, Cherry AB exercised an
option to acquire the remaining 51% of
shares in ComeOn Malta, and in doing so,
took full ownership of the business.
From April 1, Cherry iGaming will
resume the brand ComeOn!, in a move
that the firm said will “re-emphasise its
operational independence”, as well as
align it with other business areas owned
by Cherry AB.
“We are building a business area,
merging Cherry iGaming and ComeOn!,
with a number of brands within it and
setting a new unified culture and actionable
values,” ComeOn! chief executive Jonas
Wåhlander said.
“We therefore wanted to take this
opportunity to have a really good think
about what name mirrors this the best.
“After spending some time we weren’t able
to point to any brand alternative being on
par or better than ComeOn!.”
Anders Holmgren, chief executive of
Cherry AB, added: “By clearly branding
this business area we are, just as with
XCaliber, Game Lounge and Yggdrasil,
being even more clear and specific about
how we build shareholder value, while
supporting and acknowledging the diverse
needs of each of our business areas.”
DRAFTKINGS CONTINUES EXPANSION WITH GERMANY LAUNCH
DAILY FANTASY SPORTS (DFS) operator
DraftKings has completed the latest stage
of its ongoing expansion strategy by
launching in Germany.
Earlier this year, the company
announced plans to enhance its presence
in the European market after acquiring a
Controlled Skill Games Licence from the
Malta Gaming Authority (MGA).
At the time, DraftKings cited Germany
as a potential expansion market, and has
now completed the move by opening up
a beta version of its DFS platform to all
consumers in the country.
German players will have access to all 10
sports currently offered by DraftKings in its
core US markets, including contests based
on the NFL American football league,
Major League Baseball and the NBA
basketball league, as well as seven leagues
of football.
Jeffrey Haas, chief international officer
at DraftKings, said: “Germany is known
for its passionate sports fans and we are
pleased to welcome them to daily fantasy
sports.
“Germans show a proclivity for
American sports, particularly the NFL and
NBA.
“Initial testing in Germany shows that
our most popular sport has been the NBA,
which is why we are opening our beta test
to all German sports fans.”
PLAYTECH ROLLS OUT £500,000 CASINO CASH GIVEAWAY
PLAYTECH HAS ANNOUNCED
the launch of a new £500,000
(€577,300/$622,900) casino network
promotion.
The cash giveaway, which will run across
the Playtech network for 28 days, coincides
with the launch of three new slot games
based on the Superman film franchise.
The new promotion features a top prize
of £200,000, with three others worth
£100,000 each.
In addition, headline prizes of £5,000
will be up for grabs, as well as hundreds of
smaller cash prizes, with players to receive
one ticket for every £10 cash bet placed on
selected titles.
Last year, Playtech also ran a £250,000
giveaway across its network to promote
its new DC-branded range of games, and
the latest promotion is the largest in the
company's history.
Shimon Akad, chief operating officer
at Playtech, said: “We have meticulously
planned the last nine months’ content
release schedule and strategically aligned
it with a series of fantastic marketing
promotions.
GERMAN STATES GIVE GREEN LIGHT TO REVISED GAMBLING TREATY
GERMANY’S 16 STATES have jointly
approved a new federal gambling treaty
that could lead to an expansion of the
country’s sports betting market.
Due to take effect from January 2018,
the State Treaty on Gambling would lift
the controversial cap on the number of
sports betting licences that are on offer to
operators wishing to offer services in the
country.
The new treaty also sets out plans for
stricter enforcement against unauthorised
operators, as well as the possibility of
legalising online casino gambling activities
6
iGB Affiliate Issue 62 APR/MAY 2017
in the future.
However, the approval comes despite
the heavy criticism from the European
Commission (EC), which earlier this
month said the treaty was “not a viable
solution” to issues highlighted in the failed
2012 treaty.
The treaty also still requires ratification
from each German state, and lawmakers in
Schleswig-Holstein, a long-time supporter
of online gambling, have said that the
treaty is unlikely to be approved.
The EC has now called on Germany to
accelerate the legalisation of other online
gaming formats in order to help provide
more protection for consumers in the
country.
However, the German Sports Betting
Association (DSWV) said the approval
was a “small step in the right direction”,
while member operator mybet said that
it “welcomes the efforts to regulate the
German market in total”.
In a statement, mybet added: “As a
member of the DSWV the company
supports the offer by the association to start
a dialogue with politicians to develop a
mutually satisfactory sustainable solution.”