Betgenius acquire Boolabus
We’re delighted to finally formally announce that we’re now part of the Betgenius family. Read the full press release.
Connected TV Apps
A recent appearance at the Connected TV Summit. I was on a panel after the Sky presentation. The Connected TV Summit is the largest global event dedicated to Connected TV. The 2011 event attracted 380 delegates from all over the world. The online streaming service had 1,100 people login over the two days.
Skybet go live with the Betstream advanced football module
Skybet have launched a live betting app that delivers realtime commentary, stats and bet suggestions for all of their in-play football. The app was developed on our Betstream® framework and utlilises rich media feeds and price data from the sportsbook. It also offers SkySports-style breaking news alerts on major events from all live games. The application is self-contained, avoiding the need for complex integrations with betting platforms.
Betstream Product Review in August edition of “Egaming Review”
The leading customer experience consultancy, Foviance do a regular product review slot in Egaming Review magazine. It’s great to see something other than another new slot game in there and while you can’t take these reviews too seriously, the fact that it’s Foviance and EGR means it’s serious. I think they were (a bit) too kind to us but they did get what the advanced football module is all about. Thanks guys. The next release will be 110/100!
Patriot Games: Why a Californian poker licence might cost $1 billion
This is really interesting and quite rare but I think we will see more of it. We have a couple of well regarded young(ish) web entrepreneurs in an open discussion about online gambling and how things might develop in the US. The video below is part of a podcast by Jason Calacanis and features an interview with a former winner of the US Apprentice TV series, Kelly Perdew.
Perdew’s company operate in fantasy sports and online gambling is clearly on their radar. They mention Betfair and Full Tilt but the billions of dollars of potential revenues are clearly visible to both. Jump in at 22 mins if you are in a hurry. Perdew reckons a Californian licence might cost a billion dollars (over how many years? Average lottery contract about 7-10 years?). I think in the final regulation endgame in the US the locals are not going to let the industry go to a bunch of Europeans without a fight. What might also give us pause for thought is the likely scenario that the established Silicon Valley Goliath’s and a horde of hungry smaller start-ups will heavily target the sector as there are real revenues to be had, not just eyeballs.
It reminds of a few years ago when the UK / European iGaming sector was going to “do Asia”. “Send a chap to Manila and we’ll clean up” we thought. Turned out some of the Asian operators fancied doing Europe. Might the Yanks do the same to established European companies, using their presence and revenues from the biggest market of all and their leadership in new technology to slowly takeover a regulated sector beyond  their shores?
Thankfully US regulators still think sportsbetting is evil for some reason so those who work in that sector won’t lose sleep for a few more years. Have a look at video below and I’d be interested to read comments / thoughts…
The 4th fastest growing app on facebook this week…
As a side project, Neil Breakwell and I created the format and designed this game (with Magic Matt) for Yazino.com. It’s probably the first true multiplayer slot and in percentage terms it is the fourth fastest growing app week on week on all of facebook. The platform is the real star but the task of creating a format, maths model and gameplay to cater for players coming and going, playing at different stakes and generally making life difficult was a quite a challenge with no references or existing work to base it on.
The Racing Post make Totesport the most improved website during the world cup
iGaming Business have a story on our recent work with Totesport. They’ve done a great job on the site and we’re really happy with the live betting apps and marketing modules. We’re rolling out more functionality in the next few weeks.
Keith Sharkey @ Totesport was quoted:
“The combination of an extensive range of markets, the prominence given to live betting and an engaging and informative display of what is happening in the game has resulted in big increases in traffic to live betting events. Customer feedback has been really positive about our recent site changes and this is reflected in our In Play growth†said Keith Sharkey Head of business development for Totesport. The Racing Post seem to concur recently saying Totesport was the “Most Improved Website†during the world cup.
You can read the full article here.
Totesport go live with Betstreamâ„¢
There has been a lot of activity in sportstbetting, redesigning sites and adding live betting features in readiness for the world cup. Totesport have redesigned their website and it lifts them into the Premier league of sportsbook offerings. Best of all, their live betting is powered by Betstream™.
We’re very proud of the live football experience. It features some smart functionality that is set to drive turnover and margin as well as giving punters the best live stats experience. Take a look at Totesport during live football and you will see not just live scores and stats but an integrated experience that brings the best content and data feeds into the heart of the betting website. Every stat has an equivalent bet offer. Every action in the game results in a relevant market being highlighted. And every goal in every game across the world of football is brought to the user’s attention with the latest prices.
Best of all, it will keep on getting better. Stay tuned but go and have a look at some live football on Totesport or watch the highlights video here.
UPDATE
We’ve gone live with some promotional applications that can be deployed across the website. There’s more in the video below on the promos.
Betfred enhance World Snooker Championship
Betfred were the first to trial our new Betstream® SP application that allow bookmaker’s to enhance any event with data, commentary and more. It was a proven success. It’s in beta but we’re looking to extend it and build it into a powerful component of Betstream®.
The website
I’ve moved platform and you might have noticed a few changes. I’ll finish off the job over the next few weeks. Apologies if you come across any broken links or other strange behaviours.