Latest Results and New Playtech Partnerships in 2012
January 26, 2012
Playtech has made a number of announcements recently, and along with fourth quarter results and full year results for 2011 which saw the group’s gross income rise by 41% to €243.6 million, the group also announced new partnership agreements which have been reached in online gambling markets that look set to open up shortly.
New partnerships have been forged in a number of markets including Germany wherein Playtech as entered into a 49.99% joint venture with the well-known land based gambling operator Gauselmann, who also owns the Merkur casino brand. This partnership looks set to offer numerous gambling products and services as well as sports betting, depending ultimately on what German gaming legalization will include.
South Africa is also a market where government is currently considering the legalization of online gambling and Playtech has strategically embarked on a 50% partnership deal with the illustrious Peermont Global, casino and resort operator which owns and operates a number of casino resorts across the country including Emperors Palace in the city of Johannesburg. Initially this venture will extend to sport betting only but the group plans to offer broad based online casino gambling options once new legislation is passed.
In addition to its various joint partnerships, Playtech has also recently acquired Geneity, a UK based sports book developer with clients like Betfair, Ladbrokes and Gala Coral at an initial price of £11 million with an additional £4 million due upon agreed upon deliverables by the company. The Geneity sports book software will then replace Playtech’s existing product offering.
These were just a few of Playtech’s announcements this month and from the way they are going it seems there will be many more. To experience the success of the Playtech brand, play at Europa Casino now!
Online Casino Group To Release Michael Jackson Hair Roulette Ball
December 14, 2011
When it comes to news of the bizarre in the online casino industry, Golden Palace is usually synonymous with weird purchases, auctions, streaking fans, baby naming rights and all other shocking stunts, but this time another online casino related group is stealing the off-colour limelight with its purchase of some of Michael Jackson’s hair which it reportedly plans to have it made into a roulette ball.
In a recent press release OnlineGamblingPal states “The King of Pop to Rock & Roll Again” after purchasing some of what is said to be Michael Jackson’s hair from a memorabilia Merchant, Gotta Have Rock and Roll, for a whopping sum of $10,871. The hair was reportedly “retrieved” from the Carlyle Hotel in New York while Michael Jackson was staying at the establishment.
The online casino group stated that as the proud new owners of the hair sample they have decided to make Michael Jackson’s hair into a high quality roulette ball whch they believe is an appropriate and unique way to immortalize a small part of a truly legendary entertainer. According to a spokesperson for the group, the ball will be manufactured to the highest professional specifications and standards so that it can be used at any licensed casino’s roulette table. The group believes that since The King of Pop dedicated his life to entertaining the masses, the idea of a special memorabilia ball which is sure to captivate the attention of all who encounter it would be a fitting tribute that ensures that Michael can rock and “ROLL” forever.
While it may seem in bad taste to some, others are already suggesting that legendary song lyrics like “Beat it” may be changed to “Bet it” and even Rolling Stone suggests that soon we’ll be singing “It don’t matter if you’re black or red“. Whether that ever actually happens remains to be seen but in the meantime you may want to stick to the more “normal” but just as exciting online casinos like Spin Palace this Festive Season.
William Hill Online Wins Operator of the Year 2011
December 2, 2011
William Hill Online fended off Betfair, 888 online and Bet365 to walk away with top honours as the “Operator of the year 2011” at the recent eGaming Review Operator Awards (eGR awards) which was held at the Honourable Artillery Club (HAC) in London. These awards are some of the biggest that the online gambling industry has to offer and the event was attended by 700 online gaming professionals to celebrate the achievers of the past year.
Each category is judged by an independent panel of judges who collectively stated that the William Hill group deservedly took home the coveted award after grabbing the spotlight as “The turnaround story of 2011“. According to the judges, William Hill Online transformed its brand into a dynamic, fresh and exciting one that has taken the industry by storm and shows no sign of slowing down any time soon.
A delighted Henry Birch, CEO of William Hill accepted the award saying that “The eGR award for operator of the year recognises the huge strides we’ve made over the last 12 months. I want to thank everyone at William Hill Online for all their hard work over the year - it has been fantastic!”
And fantastic is has been! In 2011 the group has shown excellent results and huge growth across all spheres of the business, adding Italian, Irish and Canadian sites to their international portfolio bringing their offering to over 26 different language/territory based casino and betting sites which are now accessible from over 175 countries across the world. William Hill online also branched out into offering financial betting via their new site Day Trader and has also made huge advancements in their mobile casino and betting portfolios as well as continuous expansion into their sports betting products which now allow punters to bet point-by-point on Wimbledon matches as well as pre and in-play during football matches.
In order to support these types of offerings, Will Hill has signed exclusive betting arrangements with ESPN, SPL, Scottish Football, the Sun’s Dream Team, the Investec Derby, and Super League Rugby.
With so much being done with such excellence it is not difficult to see why William Hill Online won Operator of the year this year and it looks certain that the trend will continue for many years to come! So why not experience first class gaming with William Hill Casino online now!
Playtech Offers Shares To Raise Funds
November 25, 2011
According to recent reports, software giant Playtech, has put up shares in the company for sale in order to raise £100 million which will be used to fund expansion programs involving acquisitions and new joint ventures for the group.
In the past few months Playtech has been in pursuit of several of these types of undertakings and have announced that the group has identified partners which will be the “right” fit for their brand and will reportedly forge alliances with various local brands in soon-to-be regulated markets. The group has calculated that its planned acquisitions will amount to £40 million while the joint venture deals will cost between €15 and €30 million each.
Playtech has already established a joint venture with casino and sportsbook powerhouse William Hill and also provides a number of other leading casino operators with software which the group deems a success. Based on its track record, Playtech founder Teddy Sagi increased his shareholding in the group to 43.7% after agree to underwrite the required £100 million to fund their expansion efforts.
It will be interesting to see which deals come out of these plans, so watch this space for more details and in the meantime, why not play at one of our highly recommended Playtech powered casinos like Europa Casino now.
William Hill Reports Back To Business As Usual
October 27, 2011
World renowned William Hill Casino and sportsbook is an illustrious brand with years of expertise and player satisfaction to its name and while it has faced a few challenges lately the group reports that it is business as usual now that these have been resolved and the group is committed to continuing to offer players the professional service that they have become accustomed to.
The issues arose after Tel Aviv based Will Hill staff abandoned their posts amidst rumours that the group was going to shut down the Israel based operation and move to Gibraltar. These rumours turned out to be unfounded and William Hill offered employees double pay and a bonus in June 2012 should they return to work by the 23rd of October. Employees were also assured of a virtually unheard of 6 month notice period should the group decide to terminate their employment due to any reason other than poor performance. Senior officials from the group have also been assigned to monitor the Tel Aviv office in the coming months and things seem stable and back to normal.
William Hill CEO Ralph Topping has also reportedly fired seven senior managers after ex-Israeli intelligence officers found evidence that they were involved in plans to start a rival business along with a Rabbi, fish feeder and hairdresser (sounds like a bad joke doesn’t it?). Nevertheless, William Hill has remained the epitome of integrity and agreed to pay £2 million in severances to the dismissed staff in order to honour its restraint of trade agreements.
We can only wonder how many other groups would have still honoured this in light of the facts, which just goes to show what a top notch group William Hill Online is and also why they have been nominated for best casino provider of the year again this year. Try them and see for yourself!
New web-based platform launched at Titan Casino
July 21, 2011
Playtech fans will be thrilled at the latest announcement that Titan Casino has recently launched a brand new web based platform which will enable players to get playing in a flash!
The new platform features an integrated online system wherein every function from registering a player account, logging, making a deposit and playing are all possible without leaving the website. No software downloads are necessary so you can play all of your favourite casino games instantly within your internet browser whether you’re at home, work or on the go.
The major benefits of the new platform include the speed and convenience with which this reputable online casino can be accessed, the convenient and intuitive layout and design of games categories as well as the superb quick loading graphics, not to mention the progressive jackpot tickers which are displayed on the homepage of the site at any given time.
The new platform does not replace the downloadable version of the casino for those who prefer to play on the traditional version of the casino but we have a feeling that once you see the new release that will change in an instant. Try it for yourself today!
UK Players raking in winnings at Spin Palace Casino
July 14, 2011
While Spin Palace Casino operates in the global market and produces winners in nearly every country across the world, this month has seen the biggest wins go to players from the United Kingdom.
The biggest UK winner this month raked in a whopping £23,692 on the 7th of July thanks to wins on three of the casinos most popular online slots including Sure Win, Thunderstruck II and the newly released Gold Factory video slot.
The second biggest win by a UK based player at the casino totalled £20,560 from a single slot machine, namely the ever popular The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.
Last but not least with a smaller win, a third United Kingdom player won a total of £8,460 by playing Tally Ho and Mermaids Millions slots online.
The month is not even halfway through so it will be interesting to see how many more UK winners emerge in the next few weeks. You could be next! Play at Spin Palace Casino now.
Spin Palace Player Wins Grand Slam of Slots II
June 10, 2011
Microgaming’s Grand Slam of Slots II (GSOS II) mega tournament reached its conclusion on the 23rd of May 2011 and the Isle of Man based software giant recently released the much anticipated results.
First place went to a player identified only as A.P who played through the Spin Palace Casino platform and won a whopping $157,515.83 in the final tournament. According to Microgaming’s recent press release, A.P adds this total to his former wins of $1000 in the Network $25k Monthly Monster Tournament. In second place was a player known as Lucko who won $78,780.75 in the tournament and the third place winner who remains anonymous won $39,367.54.
The press release also revealed some other quite surprising information regarding the latest Grand Slam tournament. While the initial prize pool was projected to be $290,000 with the original first prize at a total of $100,000, increased participation in the tournament resulted in a 50% increase in the prize pool to a massive $456,700 and prizes were adjusted accordingly for all winners. According to the statistics, 1,588 players from various Microgaming powered online casinos took part in the online tournament and 290 lucky people walked away with cash winnings in their pockets. There was however one huge disappointment and that was that no player managed to complete a full pay table on the Thunderstruck Slot, leaving the bonus prize of $2.43 million in cash or gold bullion unclaimed.
But don’t despair, according to Mike Hebden, Head of Microgaming, the company will be allocating the $2.43 million towards an even better prize offering in the Grand Slam of Slots III tournament, which means it is definitely going to be one to look out for! As usual we’ll keep you updated on all of the details as they emerge.
Caesars tie to online casino approved by Nevada regulators
March 31, 2011
Thursday last week saw Nevada gambling regulators vote to allow one of the world’s largest land based casino enterprises to do business with 888, a Gibraltar based online gambling company which is one of the biggest in the industry and is publicly traded on the London Stock Exchange. The vote led to the approval of the business relationship between the two giants, namely Caesars Entertainment Corp and 888 Holdings PLC, which means that UK based online players can look forward to accessing over 50 casino in several countries, including the famous Vegas based Caesars Palace casino, as they move towards running online gaming sites through 888 for their various properties.
According to reports, this move has been years in the making and the Caesars group has long been positioning itself to launch into online gambling should this ever become legalised in the US, however the process has been a delicate one which has been mindful of assessing each other’s business practices and legalities of online gambling. In a statement, the group’s CEO, Mitch Garber stated that the UK was not the end of the group’s plan or vision and the group hopes to expand into online gambling in other countries going forwards as the various laws allow.
The 888/Caesars approval decision was made on the same day that Nevada lawmakers in Carson City gathered for a hearing on a bill to legalize state-wide internet poker. This bill in question was ironically pushed by a top poker website and fiercely opposed by land based gambling companies, including Caesars which are pushing for federal legislation instead.
According to Commissioner Randolph Townsend, whether the bill to legalise state-wide poker is passed or not, the board and commission will be put under immense pressure to authorize Internet gaming. This sentiment stems from the fact that worldwide online gambling revenue is estimated at figures of $24.2 billion in 2011 and around $26.1 billion in 2012, which the US would continue to miss out on should they continue to ban online gambling. Time will tell whether the bill will force lawmakers to amend past decisions, but in the meantime, UK citizens will have a whole lot more to look forward to in terms of variety.
Spin Palace rewards loyalty more than ever before
March 9, 2011
Spin Palace as part of the Microgaming network of casinos has offered an attractive loyalty program based on points since its inception but in recent months has upgraded this standard offering to one where loyalty points are doubled or tripled when you play selected games for that month at the casino.
This month, Spin Palace will be expanding their loyalty program even further with a special promotion which encompasses an even wider variety of games including blackjack and roulette! This is very good news for table games players who usually do not enjoy as favourable promotions and wagering requirements as slot players to.
During week days in March, from Monday to Thursday the casino is offering double loyalty points on all bets at the blackjack and roulette tables and on week-ends (Friday to Sunday) you will be able to accumulate triple points on these games.
Spin Palace will also be dedicating each day of the week to different games which will allow you to earn double loyalty points, for example Monday Madness and Tuesday Treasures see double points on all progressive jackpot slot machines, Winning Wednesdays give double points on new games releases from February (including Planet Exotica, Queen of Hearts and Ruby of the Nile slots), Thunderous Thursdays give double points on Thunderstruck and Thunderstruck II slots. The action continues with Weekends of Wealth with triple points on any slots featured at the casino.
The more points you have, the higher tier you attain in terms of Spin’s Loyalty program and loyalty members can expect a number of exclusive promotions, entrance to VIP tournaments, speciality and luxury prizes as well as faster withdrawal processing, increased deposit limits and even a personal account manager. So the more you play, the bigger the benefits!
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