Greyhound Racing Tips

Posts Tagged ‘online bookies’

PartyGaming is in merger talks with Bwin, largest out of all online bookies, in a deal that could create a £2 billion online gaming monster. The two groups have been holding negotiations since the summer.

The USA was PartyGaming’s biggest market, accounting for nearly 90% of its revenues, but the company suffered a huge setback when America made internet gambling illegal. Online gaming groups including PartyGaming had to close their American operations and lost considerable amounts of revenue.

Rumors about consolidation in the online gaming sector has been the major topic for discussion recently. A tie-up between PartyGaming and Bwin would be logical given the former’s ambition to grow its presence in sports betting, an area where the Austrian online betting site has been leading the way for last several years.

PartyGaming is well known for offering poker and casino games. It seems likely that if the two businesses can agree a tie-up, the deal would be structured as a merger of equals.

One source cautioned that discussions were at an early stage and there was no clear signal that a deal would be agreed. “Everyone in the industry is talking to everybody else,” said the source.

In April of this year, PartyGaming agreed a settlement with America’s Department of Justice to make sure that it would not face prosecution over its activities in the United States. It agreed to pay 5m (£65m) as part of the deal.

Analysts say that gambling groups including 888 Holdings and Sportingbet as well as Sweden’s Unibet, have all been thinking about possible deals.

Latest EGR Awards show crowned online sportsbook Bwin as the Operator of the Year while PartyPoker received Poker Operator of the Year title. EGR Power 50 also acknowledged domination of these two online gaming giants putting Bwin on the top of the rating for the second year in a row and PartyGaming right behind it.

Technorati Tags: online betting site, online bookies, online sportsbook

Leading online bookies are bidding for the first online gambling license in India to take share of country’s attractive $60bn betting market. William Hill, Betfair and Bwin are bidding for the internet license in the Himalayan state of Sikkim

It is known that some 13 betting companies, including local Indian operators, are battling it out for at least three licenses in Sikkim. Bookmakers want to launch their betting services live before the football World Cup in South Africa. Ladbrokes and 888 might also bid for a license in Sikkim.

Even though the license holders will be allowed to offer their services in Sikkim, they also expect to be able to take bets from all over India. India has a rapidly growing population of 1.2 billion, but Internet penetration remains low compared to Western standards and increasing only in more affluent states. Online sportsbooks hope that once other Indian states see the huge revenues and tax flowing into Sikkim, they will follow the trend.

Spokesman from William Hill said: "I can confirm that we are interested in entering the Indian market and we are in discussions with potential partners at the moment.” Indian law requires foreign companies to partner with a local company to offer its services. It has been informed that William Hill held talks with Global Torrent International based in Sikkim.

Betfair, best if all online betting exchanges, is partnering with Agilisys Managed Services. Betfair and Bwin have had teams on the ground in India for some time.

A Ladbrokes spokesman said: "We are watching the space to see what happens because there are several partner opportunities to get a license in the province of Sikkim.” 888 might also bid for a license in Sikkim.

The only legal betting activities in India are horse racing, trackside at meetings, and gambling at casinos in just two states, Goa and Sikkim.

According to official reports, legal operators of casinos and horse racing operations make about 0m in revenue in India each year from an estimated total betting turnover of bn.

However, the total value of bets waged in black market in India each year is at least $40bn. As a result, illegal outfits generate combined operator revenues of about bn each year. Online betting makes up only a fraction of the overall market.

Technorati Tags: betting exchanges, online bookies, online sportsbooks