Who’s doing what – Live casino operator news in brief

By virtue of their size and standing in the online gambling industry, many of the brands offering live casino games and listed on this site are quite often in the news for one reason of another.

This past couple of days it seems they’ve been particularly busy;  not so much with live dealer specific developments but we thought it worthwhile doing a quick whip-around nonetheless.

First came the welcome news that William Hill and Playtech have kissed and made up over the rift created earlier this year by news of merger talks with Ladbrokes.

William Hill went on the defensive immediately after the merger rumours surfaced and took out an injunction against Playtech to protect the terms of a currently-in-place JV agreement. Now Hill’s have eased restrictions on Playtech licensing its software to other firms (including Ladbrokes presumably), and in return they will be able to use the JV vehicle, William Hill Online, to provide expanded services to William Hill’s retail operations.

In further M&A activity, it was announced that Betsson have agreed to pay around €60 million to purchase Malta-based online betting firm Betsafe.  The announcement came with plenty of talk of the common values and similar cultures shared by both companies from respective CEO’s Pontus Lindwall and Henrik Persson.  I daresay the word synergy would have popped up a few times at investor briefings.  One synergy they definitely share is an early commitment to live gaming…and having Evolution Gaming as their platform of choice.

Paddy Power and Unibet were in the news for all the right reasons, as far as shareholders are concerned anyway, announcing healthy revenue growth for the first quarter of 2011.  The news was especially gratifying for Unibet in the face of their decision to exit the French market back in June 2010.  France used to represented over 20% of Unibet’s total revenues.

And finally bet365 have shaken off the disappointment of Stoke City’s 1-0 loss to Manchester City in the FA Cup with a decision to apply for an online gambling license in Australia.  Denise Coates, Co-CEO and founder of bet365 unveiled plans to apply for an interactive gambling license in the Northern Territory by the end of 2011 giving bet365 rights to advertise in the mainstream throughout Australia.

Stoke City Chairman (and bet365 Co-CEO) Peter Coates, is no-doubt still contemplating what might have been at Wembley STadium last Saturday.