This comes as the studio stresses a prime objective to “continue offering online casino operators unique productions”, with this aiming to be achieved alongside what is hailed as “one of the main operators in the country”.

Currently, the Entain brand can access an array of MGA’s games, including titles such as A Mina de Ouro, Deus dos Mares, Paulo Futre, Sandro Rey, Samantha Fox, Dream 3 Team, and Popeye Caça-Tesouros.

Javier Lanfranchi, Sales Director at MGA Games, commented: “We are sure that our localised slot games will impress Bwin.pt players making them feel the true emotion of the game. 

“We share with Bwin.pt the passion for entertainment, and reflect this by offering top-quality content of great value to operators”.

This becomes the latest commercial tie-up to target Portugal that has been inked by the company, with an alliance struck with Caravel Entertainment earlier in the year that was also tasked with gaining growth across the country.

This year has seen MGA Games enter into an array of similar such agreement targeting an array of jurisdictions, which these including the Peruvian market through Olimpo.bet and various African nations via Premier Bet.

This latter partnership saw the group’s offerings go live in online casinos in Cameroon, Congo, DR Congo, Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal, Chad, and Zambia.

The post MGA Games enhances Portuguese presence via Bwin link-up appeared first on CasinoBeats.

This will see the igaming aggregator and supplier provide the bwin, partypoker and PartyCasino operator entities with 30 games, including Temple Tumble  Beast Mode and Money Train 2.

Additional proprietary Relax games will follow, with regulatory approval expected shortly from the Dirección General de Ordenación del Juego, Spain’s regulatory authority.

“Relax Gaming continues to realise its trajectory in regulated markets by adding the Spanish jurisdiction to its list of supported European jurisdictions,” stated Alexia Smilovic Rønde, Chief Regulatory Officer at Relax Gaming.

“Spain is known for its heightened regulatory conditions, which differ from other similar markets, and with Relax Gaming’s expertise, technology and content we were up to that challenge – with the goal of delivering the market’s most seamless experience available to licensed operators and their players.

“We don’t doubt this will result in an excellent start for operations and a steady growth in the Spanish landscape overtime.” 

In total, Relax provides more than 3,000 online casino games, which originate from its proprietary slots suite to a library of content from third-party studios.

Obdulio Bacarese, Gaming Commercial Director at Entain, said: “We’re confident that Relax Gaming’s titles will be a huge splash in the Spanish market, and we’re excited to have these hits in our armoury to entertain our legions of players.

“Given the massive impact these games have had in similar markets throughout Europe, we couldn’t think of a better partner than Relax as we both continue to expand and grow in Spain.”

The post Relax Gaming gains Spanish debut alongside Entain appeared first on CasinoBeats.

This is been achieved after partnering with Sport Senza Frontiere Onlus to support underprivileged young people and their families across Italy, where Entain operates through the Eurobet, bwin, and Gioco Digitale brands, through community sports and tutoring. 

The investment by the foundation will go directly into Sport Senza Frontiere Onlus’ intervention programme which, along with free access to 30 different sport disciplines, will provide beneficiaries with school and tutoring services, counselling, health education and medical support, and support specifically for parents.

“We have a fantastic partner in Sport Senza Frontiere Onlus, and through this collaboration, we will put our best efforts into transforming the lives of hundreds of disadvantaged children and teenagers across Italy – through which free access to sport and education is key,” noted Andrea Faelli, managing director of Eurobet. 

“We hope to help grow the organisation’s intervention programme in years to come and make a real change to the lives of the program’s beneficiaries – setting them up for a brighter future.”

The foundation noted that the investment is in line with its goals to invest in sports at the grassroots level, which it already supports community sports initiatives in the UK, through its SportsAid partnership and Pitching In programme; Greece, through Team Forward, an Olympic-focused programme to fund athletes, and further projects in Germany and Colombia.

Sport Senza Frontiere Onlus, established in Italy in 2009, is a non-profit organisation that centres arounds sport being accessible to all and used as a tool for education, conflict prevention, inclusion and social cohesion. 

The project, which will run throughout 2022, aims to reach a total of 400 direct beneficiaries in Naples, Rome, Milan, Turin, Bergamo, and Trento.

In addition, the foundation will also support Sport Senza Frontiere Onlus on a second initiative, which will involve Entain employees working for its Eurobet brands in Italy. Entitled Wellbeing for Good, this is a six-month project starting next month which seeks to promote the wellbeing of Eurobet employees through sports activities, social inclusion projects and team building activities, and to encourage them to volunteer to support Sport Senza Frontiere Onlus activities.

The post Entain Foundation to ‘transform lives’ in grassroots expansion appeared first on CasinoBeats.

It is alleged that Bhargava has committed to part funding a potential transaction, which JKO Play last week gained an extended deadline in a bid to firm up its interests.

Bhargava, an Indian-born British businessman, had previously co-founded and occupied the marketing director role at PartyGaming, which merged with bwin Interactive Entertainment in 2011 to form bwin.party.

As previously mentioned, last week saw JKO Play handed an extended deadline to announce a firm intention to make an offer for Playtech or withdraw its acquisitive interests, after the latter adjourned a shareholder meeting to approve Aristocrat’s £2.7bn transaction.

Following confirmation that its shareholder meetings to approve Aristocrat’s £2.7bn offer would be adjourned to February 2, 2022, JKO Play received an extension to the date that was previously set at 5pm on January 5, 2022.

As a result of the adjournment, the UK’s Takeover Panel has ruled that the company now has until 5pm on January 26, 2022, the seventh day prior to the date of the adjourned shareholder meetings, to unveil a firm intention to make an offer or announce that it does not.

This deadline will cease to apply if, before that time, a third party other than JKO rolls-out a firm intention to make an offer for Playtech.

However, Aristocrat has consistently remained the frontrunner to secure any potential transaction after making its move in October 2020, with an offer that values the company at £2.7bn, or 680 pence per share, a 58 per cent premium on its closing price during the prior week.

If successful in acquiring the company, Aristocrat has voiced an intention of leveraging its new Snaitech division to ‘operate and innovate’ in Europe, whilst also aiming to boost its revenues, expand its customer reach and provide material scale in online gaming.

Should JKO indicate that it does not intend to follow up its initial acquisitive interests, the Aristocrat transaction had been scheduled to close during the second quarter of 2022.

The post JKO Play gains financial backing in Playtech pursuit appeared first on CasinoBeats.

The collaboration, which is lauded as a “ground-breaking partnership” by bwin, will see the brand gain prominent branding presence in regulated betting markets around the globe.

Stephan Heilmann, Entain’s managing director digital Europe, explained: “We’re proud to be an official partner of the UEFA Europa League and the UEFA Europa Conference League alongside other major international brands. 

“The partnership will provide an array of exciting opportunities to enhance our offer to our customers, creating unique new experiences and content. 

“It also provides bwin with a formidable platform to reach fans in regulated sports betting markets around the world, highlighting our unparalleled combination of the best product and the most responsible environment in which to bet.”

The agreement will see bwin gain visibility in both competitions, appearing on broadcast backdrops and in stadia, including on extensive perimeter advertising, as well as on the websites and social media of the two competitions. 

Furthermore, the brand will also support UEFA in its fight against match-fixing, in order to maintain the integrity of the sport

The sponsorship rights also provide the use of content and footage from both competitions on bwin’s own platforms, along with access to tickets and hospitality at matches for its customers.

“We’re delighted to have secured bwin as the first ever official sports betting partner for one of our competitions at official partner level,” explained Guy-Laurent Epstein, marketing director at UEFA.

“As a brand that defines itself by being in touch with fans and their passion for football and clubs throughout Europe, bwin is a great fit for our competitions.

“The partnership with bwin allows UEFA to engage more openly with the sports betting sector, giving greater access to market intelligence and support from both a sports integrity and commercial perspective.

“bwin is the world leader in responsible sports betting with a rich and long-standing tradition of partnerships in football, supporting clubs, federations and competitions worldwide. Their vast experience with sponsorship activations will be an invaluable contribution for both competitions”.

This season, a total of 64 teams from 35 of UEFA’s 55 member associations participate in the two European football competitions from the group stage onwards.

The post bwin becomes official partner of UEFA Europa and Conference League appeared first on CasinoBeats.

The company documented its acquisitive intentions last month, announcing a public cash offer to the shareholders of Enlabs to tender all shares at a price of SEK 40 each, valuing the group at SEK 2.8bn, equivalent to approximately £250m.

Subsequently, an acceptance period was expected to commence on or around January 21, 2021, and expire on or around February 18, 2021. 

However, Entain notes that it “has filed applications to obtain the necessary approvals from relevant competition and gaming authorities, but due to the timing of the review process with the relevant authorities, Entain does not expect that all such approvals will have been received during the acceptance period which expires on February, 18, 2021.”

The company has therefore decided to extend the acceptance period until 17.00 CET on March 18, 2021. Provided that Entain announces that the conditions of the offer have been satisfied or waived on March 23, 2021, settlement is expected to commence on or around March 30.

Early last month, the independent bid committee of Enlabs unanimously resolved to recommend the company’s shareholders to accept the offer, with those holding an aggregate around 42.2 per cent of the total number of shares undertaking to do so.

The was followed by fellow shareholders voicing objection to the proposed purchase, with it commented that the offer “materially undervalues the company”.

Inking a letter to fellow shareholders of the firm, Alta Fox Capital Management, which owns 2,332,625 shares, representing 3.34 per cent of total shares outstanding, stated that it did not plan to tender any shares at the offer price of 40 SEK each.

Signed off by Connor Haley, managing partner of Alta Fox Capital Management, the group was joined in its rejection stance by a number of fellow individuals which boast a combined over 10 per cent interest in the group.

The post Entain eyes March completion with Enlabs acceptance period extension appeared first on CasinoBeats.

Formerly GVC Group Holdings, Entain currently operates several global gaming brands, including Ladbrokes, Coral, Bwin, PartyPoker , SportingBet, Gala Bingo, Eurobet and Betboo. Crucially it is already a partner with MGM in the burgeoning US sports betting and gaming market, where their joint venture BetMGM is already challenging the leading DraftKings and FanDuel brands.

The WSJ reports that MGM’s latest offer is the second approach after an approximate $10bn all-cash overture was ‘rebuffed’. However it appears this new offer will have a substantial stock component.

The move echoes the recent deal put together which saw Caesars Entertainment agree a £2.9bn takeover of William Hill which is expected to be completed in Spring. Currently sports betting stocks in the US have been outperforming most other sectors, with investors keen to buy in after DraftKing’s move into the stock market and the huge jump in value of Penn National after it acquired a large stake of media company Barstool Sports.

All this activity will also be putting pressure on MGM governance to make a bigger play in sports betting with existing partner Entain being its obvious choice. As with the Caesars/William Hill tie up, there would still be a question as to how much MGM wants the non-US gambling assets and whether they would be divested further down the line, but Entain’s investment in areas with massive potential such as South America should be appealing to an international firm.

Meanwhile Entain has confirmed that the appointment of chief governance officer Robert Hoskin to the company’s board of directors, while Jane Anscombe has stepped down as non-executive director to pursue other opportunities. Anscombe joined the Board in June 2017 and has chaired the remuneration committee and served on the nomination, CSR and audit committees. Her successor as remuneration committee chair will be announced in due course.

Barry Gibson, Chairman of Entain, said: “As previously stated, Robert has made an outstanding contribution to Entain in his 15 years at the Group. He is responsible for regulation, legal and governance, all of which are central to our long-term growth plans to build a responsible and sustainable business of global scale and world class standard.

“On behalf of the Board I would like to thank Jane for her significant contribution and commitment to Entain over the past three years. In particular I would like to recognise her hard work and engagement on the company’s remuneration and strategic transition. Entain has become a stronger company and Jane has our thanks for her efforts.”

The post MGM Resorts casts acquisitive eyes over Entain Group appeared first on CasinoBeats.

ElectraWorks is the entity that holds the licence to operate the GVC Holdings brand within the Netherlands, and follows a number of other firms who have earned similar penalties from the country’s regulator.

The Ksa said that live casino games, including poker, blackjack and roulette, as well as sports betting was evident on the site, with an investigation finding a primary focus on Netherlands-based consumers through the use of the Dutch language, the .nl extension and use of the iDeal payment criteria.

Revealing news of the fine, the regulator stated: “Research by the Ksa revealed that at least for a certain period of time online games of chance were offered via the website bwin.com. There was a large selection of sports bets on the site. 

“It was also possible to play live casino games such as roulette, blackjack and poker. The site focused (also) on Dutch consumers. This is evident from the use of the Dutch payment method iDEAL. Offering the possibility of gambling is prohibited in the Netherlands without a license. Under the current Gambling Act, it is not possible to obtain a license for online gambling.”

Earlier this year gambling regulator, revealed that the Dutch senate has passed the Remote Gambling Act, for which it has set a target of coming into effect on Wednesday July 1, 2020, with permit applications able to be processed from that date, and the market for online games of chance then able to be officially open from Friday January 1, 2021.

At its last count the authority revealed that it has received 183 notifications from interested parties who are considering submitting an application for offering online gambling.

Last month the Ksa emphasised that in order to secure the green-light to proceed onto the upcoming Dutch online market, applicants must have refrained from offering online games of chance, specifically aimed at consumers in the Netherlands, during the two years prior to the date of submission.

The post Kansspelautoriteit issues Bwin with €350,000 fine appeared first on CasinoBeats.

The development of All Bets Blackjack continues Playtech’s ongoing strategy of heightening engagement with players. This latest launch continues their push for a more diverse live portfolio.

Colin Cole-Johnson, gaming product director at GVC said: “Delivering a unique experience for our players, in terms of look and feel as well as gameplay, is a key priority for everyone at bwin.

“Having worked very closely with Playtech on the design of our exclusive table, we’re confident players will be as impressed with the end result as we are.”

This partnership follows a busy few days for Playtech as they recently announced at the start of the week that it had agreed an exclusive four-year extension to its long-term partnership with Betfred which sees them provide live casino, bing and poker services and content to the UK.

The extension marked a new stage in their partnership which dates back over a decade. The new deal also included an extension of Betfred’s live casino space which was unveiled in 2018 at Playtech’s flagship facility in Riga.

Edo Haitin, CEO at Playtech Live Casino, added: “Driving expansion through product innovation and differentiation is central to the Playtech Live Casino mission, and we’re delighted to be working with bwin to deliver bespoke content for their players. 

“Our flagship facility in Riga gives us the technology, capacity and flexibility to create experiences that truly reflect the brands of key partners such as bwin to drive the growth of their live casino business”

The post Playtech lauds Bwin partnership at Blackjack Live launch appeared first on CasinoBeats.

Making its full portfolio of slots available, and strengthening its relationship with GVC in the process, it builds upon a busy period for the casino content developer which has entered a number of partnerships in recent weeks.

GVC customers have already had access to Pragmatic Play’s suite of titles through the bwin, PartyCasino and PartyPoker brands.

Yossi Barzely, chief business development officer at Pragmatic Play, commented: “We are very pleased to have signed this agreement with Ladbrokes Coral, one of the world’s most respected and recognisable gaming brands.

“We have worked hard to establish our portfolio as one of the most engaging collections of products in the industry, and this deal is a major step in the right direction.”

Lauded as a “landmark agreement,” the deal will give Ladbrokes Coral customers access to video slots including John Hunter and the Aztec Treasure, Da Vinci’s Treasure and Wolf Gold.

Adam Goodall, commercial manager at Ladbrokes Coral, added: “We are always looking for opportunities to grow our online casino offering with top quality content, and Pragmatic Play’s games will be a valuable addition and enable us to keep delivering the best content to our players.

“We look forward to capitalising on the opportunities this new partnership holds.”

Earlier this month GVC upgraded profit guidance for 2019 for the second time, after making “very good progress in the first half of the year”.

Seeing trends ahead of original expectations during the first three months post the implementation of the £2 FOBT stake restriction, GVC also reports that Roar Digital, its joint venture with MGM Resorts International in the US, is on course for full online launch in New Jersey ahead of the NFL season.

The post GVC bolsters Ladbrokes Coral with Pragmatic Play appeared first on CasinoBeats.