News

Big Betting Brands to Build on New Revenue Streams in 2021

Published

3 years ago

August 4, 2020

Big Betting Brands to Build on New Revenue Streams in 2021

Rain, shine, regulation issues or pandemic, it seems nothing stops the UK sports betting industry from moving forward with new plans to evolve and find additional ways to turn a profit.

That being said, there’s no question that 2020 has been one of the more challenging years, even for the giants of the UK sportsbook sector. Beyond the lockdowns of physical betting shops as well as football and other major sports leagues shutting down for three months, regulation is always a concern. This is especially true when it comes to the protection of underage and problem gamblers.

For instance, recently, the Gambling Related Harm All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) called for a ban on gambling advertisements in the UK. The issue the APPG has isn’t specifically related to the ads themselves, but the serious negative effects they may have on individuals who are trying to distance themselves from the industry due to gambling-related problems, addiction or any other reason.

Still, even with the ongoing pandemic and the threat of tightening regulations, UK bookmakers, particularly the industry’s big bookies like BetFred, William Hill, Ladbrokes and Coral, to name a few, continue to push forward with the hopes of making 2021 a more profitable year than 2020.

Betfred Hopes to Make it Big in the US Betting Market

Taking a look at Betfred, this isn’t an operator that is keen to put all of its eggs into one basket and is quick to find new revenue streams whenever given the chance. For instance, it jumped on the mobile betting bandwagon years back when it became available and now the brand holds one of the most downloaded betting apps in the UK market. Meanwhile, Last year (2019), it entered the US betting market with big plans for its Betfred USA operations.

Even though Betfred USA had not yet launched online when everything shut down due to the pandemic, once Iowa casinos reopened and they launched in Colorado, the sport that has brought Betfred the biggest action in the US market has been MMA. While this certainly pales in comparison to the big US team sports such as the NFL, NBA and MLB, once these are back in full swing next year, the company expects to see an uptick in volume.

William Hill Intends to Merge its Retail and Online Businesses

William Hill is another big bookie making the news. William Hill is set to merge retail and online businesses according to a recent announcement made by the UK operator. Phil Walker, William Hill’s UK online managing director has announced that he will take over responsibility for the UK Single Market Division and will work alongside the head of the retail division, Nicola Frampton, during a six-month transition period before Frampton steps down.

The merger is William Hill’s new plan to overcome regulatory and economic obstacles, including the betting restrictions decision on FOBT in 2019, which resulted in the shuttering of 713 of its betting shops.

Ladbrokes and Coral Re-open Betting Shops

Wasting no time for the opportunity to welcome back profits from their physical betting shops, GVC announced the re-opening of its Ladbrokes and Coral betting shops in England back in June. Since 15 June, all 2,455 shops in England have opened their doors with the ease of the pandemic lockdown in the UK.

That said, new health and safety measures have been put into place to support social distancing and additional hand sanitizer stations. Moreover, there are pre-shop opening checks as well as clear guidance on maximum customer occupancy levels, which are based on the layout and size of each shop. GVC is gearing up to make the most of the remainder of 2020, readying to welcome in a more revenue rich 2021.

All in all, it will be interesting to see what other new steps UK bookies – big or small – will take to ensure that next year is a profitable one.

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Affiliate Success

Fiat & Crypto: King Billy players get the best of both worlds

Published

4 hours ago

March 20, 2023

George Miller

Fiat & Crypto: King Billy players get the best of both worlds

See how the casino players can deposit in crypto and play in fiat.

Since the dawn of e-gaming robust payment systems have been crucial for the success of any online casino, as they are a key factor in creating a positive and satisfying gaming experience. Moreover, the availability of different payment options allows players to choose the method that works best for them, whether it be classical fiat money or cryptocurrency.

But is it possible for an operator to give its players the best of both worlds, fiat and crypto at once? Yes, it is, with the King Billy feature “deposit in crypto, play in fiat”. The concept is simple. A casino player deposits in crypto (choosing among 4 cryptocurrencies King Billy supports). Then, the system automatically shows them their balance in the currency of their choice (among the 14 currencies King Billy supports, used by more than 3 billion people worldwide). When the players withdraw, their transaction takes place back in crypto.

What are the advantages of this system? Ruslan Legenzov, King Billy Casino Head of Affiliates (or “Lord of Affiliates” as the internal etiquette demands) has the answers: “Good things come in threes, and there are certainly 3 very good things about our “deposit in crypto, play in fiat” feature.

First of all, depositing in crypto means less hassle and paperwork for the player and elimination of the dreaded “transaction not coming through” issue. This has been a problem and actually a torment for many of our players in remote areas of the world. As a global casino, we are happy to act in ways that give peace of mind to our players.

Secondly, this system offers a greater player experience to the King Billy Citizens and Nobles, as they can now take advantage of our numerous promotions and offers in fiat. For example, players who deposit in crypto can now participate in our extremely popular fiat-only “Slot of the Month” offer, that’s been a staple of our casino since our launch.

Finally, with “deposit in crypto, play in fiat” our players, especially the not so cryptocurrency-savvy have a much clearer understanding of their wins or losses. I am sure that a player, let’s say from Vietnam, prefers to see, in real time, how much his slot win is worth in the Vietnamese Dong than running in parallel a crypto converter tool to do the math!”

Well said and well done your Majesty.

For those interested in the “deposit in crypto, play in fiat” feature, King Billy Casino accepts the following currencies: Euro (€), US Dollar ($), Canadian Dollar (C$), Australian Dollar (A$), New Zealand Dollar (NZ$), Norwegian Krone (kr), Indian Rupee (₹), South African Rand (R), Vietnamese dong (₫), Indonesian rupiah (Rp), Malaysian ringgit (RM), Thai baht (฿) and the Philippine peso (₱). King Billy also accepts the following cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Litecoin (LTC) and Tether (USDT).

King Billy Casino is a new-generation online casino, launched on St. Patrick’s Day in 2017. It is available in 4 languages (English, German, French and Finnish) and it has an impressive record in awards with 25 wins, shortlists and other distinctions, and an amazing variety of features and games. King Billy has prioritized the creation of a superb user experience, focusing on the myth of King Billy and his Kingdom and treats all players with the specialness they deserve.

London Affiliate Conference

Records tumble as iGB Affiliate London grows attendance by 40% with delegates travelling from 101 nations

Published

1 week ago

March 10, 2023

George Miller

Records tumble as iGB Affiliate London grows attendance by 40% with delegates travelling from 101 nations

The 2023 edition of iGB Affiliate London has broken all records with more attendees travelling from more countries than at any time in the event’s history. The number of unique show visitors attending iGB Affiliate London ’23 totaled 5,763 a 40% uplift on the April 2022 edition (4,116) and 19% ahead of 2020 (4,844) which was the last edition of iGB Affiliate London to take place prior to Covid. The number of visitor days which measures return visits, stands at 7,176.

The brand’s impressive international credentials were once again in evidence with visitors travelling to London from 101 nations – the first time that iGB Affiliate London has broken through the symbolic ‘three figures’ for international representation.

With every show metric in positive territory Portfolio Director Naomi Barton expressed her thanks to the entire iGB Affiliate community for its support and for helping to make the 2023 edition so successful. She stated: “We’ve worked in partnership with colleagues active in the iGaming Affiliate sector to deliver an event that provides what the industry requires across all fronts.

“Our focus was to deliver on our pledge to provide delegates with access to new business strategies, new thinking, new trends, new technologies and new content, in the process keeping the iGB Affiliate London proposition fresh and compelling.”

“This edition of iGB Affiliate London was physically the largest on record and the continued demand for space from both new and existing exhibitors underlines the fact that iGB Affiliate London is regarded by our stakeholders -who are based throughout the world – as being their flagship event.”

“Significantly 24% of attendees were making their first appearance at iGB Affiliate London with 1 in 10 affiliate visitors new to gambling. The ability to bring new people into the igaming affiliate space represents an important attribute of the brand.”

Away from the exhibition show floor a total of 450 sector professionals attended the prestigious iGB Affiliate Awards which recognized the ‘best of the best’ across 19 categories. Better Collective Co-founders, Jesper Søaard (CEO) and Christian Kirk Rasmussen (COO) were awarded with the blue riband ‘Affiliate Idol – Lifetime Achievement Award’ for their successful contributions to the industry.

On receiving the Award Jesper Søgaard, Co-founder and CEO said: “I speak for Christian too, when I say that it is an incredibly humbling feeling to not only have been considered but chosen to receive the Affiliate Idol Award. Christian and I may have laid the foundation for something great but without our dedicated colleagues, Better Collective would not be where it is today. I am very honoured but also trust that with our vision to become the Leading Digital Sports Media Group, ‘the best has yet to come’.”

The Affiliate Awards sponsors comprised V.Partners (Stage Sponsor), Safe Affiliates Programs (Photobooth), YGAM (Safer Gambling) and Trueplay (NFT).

Awards

Casino Guru Awards invites you to watch the live ceremony on February 22

Published

4 weeks ago

February 20, 2023

George Miller

Casino Guru Awards invites you to watch the live ceremony on February 22

The Casino Guru Awards Ceremony is just a week away with the grand date set for Wednesday, February 22 at 13:00 CET. The event will take place online and reunite casino experts and companies, distinguishing them for their efforts and hard work in making the gambling industry a safer place for everyone.

Casino Guru Awards 2023 will reveal the names of the winners of each of the seven categories online during a YouTube live stream hosted by the team. During the event, each of the seven categories will be discussed and a winner – finally announced.

The inaugural edition of the Awards focuses on distinguishing brands across seven core categories that are considered the linchpin of safe and responsible gambling in the industry. Those categories are as follows:

The Fairest Bonus Policy
The Fairest General T&Cs
The Most Impactful Social Responsibility Initiative
The Best Implementation of RG Tools
The Most Transparent Casino
The Most Effective Handling of Complaints Voice of the People

To judge each of the categories, Casino Guru Awards turned to some of the most prominent names in the gambling industry who sat as judges across the panels and sought to distinguish the most worthwhile and deserving gambling companies. The event’s schedule is as follows:

13:00 Event Begins
13:10 Panel with industry expert judges
13:30 Winner of ‘The Most Impactful Social Responsibility Initiative’ category
announced
13:30 Winner of ‘The Best Implementation of RG Tools’ category announced
14:05 Short Break
14:10 Winner of ‘The Most Effective Handling of Complaints’ category announced
14:30 Winner of ‘The Fairest Bonus Policy’ category announced
14:50 Winner of ‘The Fairest General T&Cs’ category announced
15:10 Winner of ‘The Most Transparent Casino’ category announced
15:30 Short Break
15:35 Winner of the ‘Voice of the People’ category announced

The nominees include prominent operators, international gambling and entertainment giants, safe and responsible gambling specialists, tech and data companies, and others.

Apart from the seven core categories judged by the expert list of specialists, Casino Guru Awards 2023 features a “Voice of the People” category voting for which has been going since December 1, 2023. The category’s winner, driven solely by people’s votes, will also be revealed during the upcoming ceremony next week.

Casino Guru proudly invites you to the Casino Guru Awards 2023 ceremony, which you will be able to attend virtually. Viewers are encouraged to ask questions, and should they want to, open discussions using the Slido platform. Do not miss the biggest iGaming event next week – tune in to watch Casino Guru Awards 2023!