Month: December 2021

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Go-live date (expected):Already live!Game special features:– Football theme
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– MultipliersNumber of paylines:243Number of reels:5×3RTP% (recorded/theoretical):95.64%Variance/volatility:HighNumber of symbols to trigger feature/bonus?N/ACan feature be retriggered?N/ANumber of free spins awarded?Up to 25Stacked or expanding wilds in normal play?N/AStacked or expanding wilds in feature play?N/ANumber of jackpot tiers?N/AAuto-play function?:N/A

Skip the base game and head straight to the Bonus Reels feature!

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Go-live date (expected):Already live!Game special features:– Reel respins
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– High RTPNumber of paylines:Bonus ReelsNumber of reels:5×4RTP% (recorded/theoretical):98.00%Variance/volatility:Medium-highNumber of symbols to trigger feature/bonus?N/ACan feature be retriggered?YesAuto-play function?Yes

Financial terms of the deals were not disclosed, but Parimatch Tech said that the double acquisition would allow it to expand its entertainment and marketing product portfolio further, as well as provide Mr.Fish and PokerMatch with new global growth prospects.

Mr.Fish offers a range of digital services including affiliate marketing, SEO, media buying, retention, reactivation, PR strategy, creative, design and influence marketing, operating a number of business units.

These units include igaming-focused marketing agency Digital Chain, CPM advertising network Vadideo, CPA network Papa Karlo, global marketing agency Global, and freelance copywriting website Copylancer.

PokerMatch is an online poker room product that is partnered with the All-Ukrainian Match Poker Federation and is also title sponsor of the Ukrainian national poker team.

The two assets will be integrated into Parimatch Tech’s marketing and business strategy.

“Parimatch Tech is excited to join forces with PokerMatch and Mr.Fish to help achieve our big goal – exploring and expanding the entertainment possibilities our users experience by interacting with the Parimatch brand,” Parimatch co-chief executive Maksym Liashko said.

“We are certain that the synergy of our expertise will lead to strengthening of the brands of all parties involved. Our business philosophy and approaches are quite similar, and we are excited to join forces with Mr.Fish and PokerMatch to further build and expand our entertainment ecosystem.”

The double deal come after Parimatch Tech franchise partner Parimatch Russia last month appointed Dmitry Sergeev to lead its expansion across Central Eastern Europe.

In July, Parimatch rebranded to Parimatch Tech, as it shifted to offering its marketing and technology as B2B solutions for franchise partners. 

The supplier said this shift would also generate greater brand awareness among prospective partners for its technology solutions offering.

Speaking in India’s Council of States the Rajya Sabha, Modi cited a rise in gaming activity among young people as a cause for concern as it was leading to online betting further down the road. The presentation of online gaming as a game of skill was also highlighted as a problem.

Modi claimed that weekly time spent on online gaming increased 60% to four hours when compared to pre-pandemic figures, and that 43 million players in India currently game online.

He added that it is estimated that by 2025, that figure would rise to 65.7 million with the sector bringing in INR29bn (£290m/€340m) in revenue. Modi also attested that mobile gaming app downloads increased from 1.86 billion in the first quarter of 2020 to 3 billion by the end of the third quarter.

Modi said: “The booming online gaming which has become a big problem for the youngsters in this country, they have become addicted to this online gaming. Being online, it is very difficult to parent the kids who become addicted.

“I would ask the government of India to make a comprehensive framework of regulation for online gaming.”

The Indian state of Karnataka banned online gaming back in October, signing the Karnataka Police (Amendment) Bill into law. This followed the lead of the state of Andhra Pradesh, which did the same back in September 2020.

The deal re-establishes Sportradar as Kambi’s exclusive supplier of National Basketball Association, National Hockey League, Major League Baseball and college sports data in the US market.

Sportradar will continue to provide Kambi with its pre-match score data, which all Kambi’s US partners will be able to use across sports. Kambi’s partners in the US include Churchill Downs Incorporated and its TwinSpires brand, Penn National Gaming with Barstool Sportsbook, and Rush Street Interactive’s BetRivers.

The deal will also see Sportradar supply Kambi with its live score data as well as its content solutions, including Live Match Trackers, for major US sports. Kambi has been a Sportradar partner since the repeal of PASPA in the US in 2018.

“Both Kambi and Sportradar were well-prepared when the US market opened in 2018, and we have worked together closely and diligently to establish our respective market leading positions,” Sportradar’s US betting managing director Neale Deeley said.

“We are very pleased that Kambi has shown an unwavering commitment to Sportradar for the next five years and, most importantly, we are delighted to elevate our partnership to the next level for the benefit of our mutual customers.”

Kambi’s vice president of commercial operations, Jamie McKittrick, added: “Providing our partners and their customers with best-in-class sports betting experiences requires the integration of high-quality, rapid data, and this long-term agreement provides us with a fantastic platform upon which to continue delivering on our partners’ ambitions.”

The extension comes after Sportradar last week entered into a multi-year sports betting partnership with online gambling operator PointsBet.

Sportradar will become PointsBet’s US supplier of choice for Major League Baseball, National Basketball Association, National Hockey League, college football and college basketball data.

Raising $200m from its initial public offering, Bullpen Parlay aims to execute a business combination with one or more companies, allowing the business it combines with to go public. While it does not have a specific target in mind, it said it was looking toward sectors including real-money gaming, hospitality and leisure.

Its management team includes executive chairman Paul Martino, who helped lead the FanDuel’s acquisition by Flutter in 2018. Martino was a member of the FanDuel board of directors from 2012 to 2017. Most recently Martino has led a new endeavor with Bankroll, an enterprise looking to build a 24,000 square foot sports betting lounge in Philadelphia

David VanEgmond is serving as Bullpen Parlay’s CEO. VanEgmond is the founder and CEO of Bettor Capital, a sports betting investment platform. Previously he was head of strategy at Barstool Sports, where he led its partnership with Penn National Gaming. He was also an executive at FanDuel during its acquisition by Flutter.

Melissa Blau will also join Bullpen parlay’s board as a director. Blau is the founder and director of igaming consulting business iGaming Capital. Since 2014 she has managed an igaming and sports betting affiliate business in New Jersey, which she founded herself.
Brett Calapp is also a company director. He founded Shadow Fox Technology Inc and has worked there since 2018. Prior to this he founded entertainment company ClubWPT for the World Poker Tour and was the chief social gaming officer at Pala Interactive.

On 3 December, Bullpen Parlay priced its IPO at $10 per unit, with 20 million units on offer.

The units, which include one class A ordinary share and half of one redeemable warrant each, can now be listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange

The purchase of a whole redeemable warrant allows the purchase of one class A ordinary share for $11.50.

The class A ordinary shares will trade under the ticker symbol BPAC, while the warrants will trade under BPACW.

The SPAC expects to raise $200m from the IPO, with the potential addition of $30m if bookrunners CitiGroup takes up an offer to acquire units.

Bullpen Parlay stated that if the business combination does not take place within 18 months of the trading deadline then they would redeem 100% of the public shares for cash.

The agreement will see both organisations “strengthen their engagement on betting integrity and sports data distribution”.

IMG Arena becomes the latest organisation to partner with IBIA, which signed memorandum of understanding agreements with the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) and Spain’s Jdigital earlier this year.

Khalid Ali, CEO of IBIA, said: “The move is natural progression following an increasing engagement between IMG Arena and IBIA on betting and integrity issues. It acknowledges the growing importance of sports data to IBIA’s regulated betting operators and the benefits both parties see from closer cooperation.

“IBIA values IMG Arena’s contribution to the protection of the integrity of sporting events and the related sports data rights that it distributes globally. The association looks forward to building upon our existing relationship and widening our engagement activities.”  

IMG Arena completed its acquisition of data collection specialists FlightScope Services earlier this year. Its parent company Endeavour also completed a deal to acquire Scientific Games’ sports betting division OpenBet for $1.20bn.

“We are thrilled to become an associate member of the IBIA,” added IMG Arena’s executive vice president and managing director Freddie Longe. “We are committed to protecting the integrity of sport and have had a consistent position and commitment to distribution of official content since our launch in 2012.

“The IBIA is a leading global voice on integrity for the licensed sports betting industry and we are proud to develop our partnership further in support of our shared vision.”

Greek operators can now offer games from BGaming’s portfolio, which includes Fruit Million, Aloha King Elvis and Elvis Frog in Vegas.

“We’re delighted to be awarded a licence by the Hellenic Gaming Commission and be able to provide our content to this regulated market,” said Marina Ostrovtsova, executive director at BGaming.

“It is a great step for the studio. BGaming will come along on our regulatory market journey.”

The process to obtain a licence in Greece opened in October 2020, one year after Greece’s parliament passed reforms to its gambling law in October 2019. Two types of supplier licences were made available – one to offer online betting technology and another to offer online games of chance.

The new regulatory system requires operators and suppliers to abide by strict operating conditions. Online slots – which an earlier draft of the regulations had sought to ban – are capped at €2 per spin, with a three-second spin minimum and a maximum win of €70,000 per round.     

BGaming is the latest in several suppliers that received licences in Greece this year. These include Yggdrasil, SoftSwiss, iSoftBet and Oryx.

Aristocrat is the current frontrunner to acquire Playtech after the two businesses agreed to a £2.7bn (€3.18bn/$3.58bn) deal in October of 2021. A shareholder meeting is scheduled for 12 January, 2022, at which time shareholders will vote on the acquisition.

Playtech’s board said the deal would ensure “certainty and liquidity” for its shareholders, by locking in a price – 680 pence per share – that reflected Playtech’s potential in new markets, rather than waiting for the market to value Playtech’s shares at this price.

However, JKO Play Limited, a business headed by Formula 1 Team owner Eddie Jordan and former SG Digital executive Keith O’Loughlin, threatened to hijack the deal with a proposal of its own last month.

At the time, Aristocrat said it was still confident its bid would be the best option.

“Aristocrat believes that the terms of the recommended acquisition and the compelling strategic rationale, provides certainty for Playtech shareholders with no contingent value or other complicated structures for shareholders to realise value,” Aristocrat said about the company’s offer.

“We also believe that the combined group will provide greater opportunities to Playtech employees.”

Now, the UK’s takeover panel has submitted a deadline for a firm offer under the City Code on Mergers. JKO must announce a firm intent to make an offer for Playtech by 5pm on 5 January, 2022, or otherwise announce that it does not intend to acquire the company.

The deadline will cease to apply should a third party other than JKO announce intent to buy Playtech before the 5 January threshold. Playtech, Aristocrat, and JKO have all accepted the ruling.

Should JKO announce it has no intent to purchase Playtech or miss the deadline, Aristocrat’s offer is expected to be approved by shareholders. The acquisition would likely close in the second quarter of 2022.

Last week, Playtech shareholders approved the sale of its financial trading division Finalto to Gopher Investments, a key step that was required for Aristocrat’s deal to take effect.

Gopher had previously also expressed an interest in acquiring Playtech, but withdrew from the running two weeks later.

Roecklein formerly served as senior vice president and general manager at Cheddar News, overseeing content, growth, programming, and production for the live-streamed financial news network. He has also served as an executive producer at Time Inc.

He will be tasked with heading up PointsBet’s content strategy for digital, social and traditional media, while maintaining key relationships with the likes of NBC Sports, in addition to professional sports leagues including the NFL, NBA and the PGA Tour.

Roecklein said: “PointsBet’s stable of talent and sports partnerships offers a treasure trove of untapped resources.

“The industry is just starting to embrace the assets available to create extraordinary content for use in traditional, online and social media. We are at the precipice of what’s to come. True to form for the brand, PointsBet will be at the forefront of attracting users and engaging them where they are.”

Roecklein will be working under chief marketing officer Kyle Christensen, who was appointed to his role in October. The company also hired Mary-Beth Hosking as chief information officer in another high profile appointment towards the end of the year.

Christensen added: “We are poised to do big things with Liam coming on board. His proven track record of growing businesses using content as a staple for building communities can’t be understated.

“This market is still so new to so many. We have a unique opportunity here to expand the sporting experience with our in-house technology and the NBC partnership, highlighting why PointsBet is the premier destination for bettors. Liam and his team will be at the center of this.”