Bet365, Paddy Power and William Hill’s main gaming software supplier Playtech is developing a new financial betting platform for roll-out to its licensees, it announced today.
CEO Mor Weizer said: “Following extensive analysis of areas we can extend into and enjoy a first-mover advantage, we came to the conclusion that the popularity of financial betting, in the form of binary options, is quickly growing. Whilst there are a number of successful financial betting operators, they focus specifically on different demographics.”
The Playtech boss said the new product, developed internally, had been designed with a focus on the bookmakers’ audience. “The conversion rates between such an audience and financial betting present a great opportunity for operators, not only to maximise the returns from players, but to approach a larger audience.”
Weizer was also bullish over the company’s prospects for sports betting, revealing that the Geneity sportsbook platform it acquired in January 2012 had five major licensees in the pipeline.
“I think it won’t be long before you will see some of the largest bookmakers doing business with Playtech in some of the regulated markets. We know that we have a first-class product, we know that it is a very flexible product. We know that our competitors are struggling, in some cases, in relating to the market, and this is where we see a big opportunity.
“Sports betting is one of the first to be regulated in each and every market, hence the importance of sports betting for us. And it is also in line with the JV structures that we put in place, as part of which we want to provide as much as possible and as many products as possible to the JV.”
Weizer was speaking at the company’s full-year 2012 results presentation, as the company posted a 51% rise in gross income to €368.1m, with adjusted net profit up 49% to €168.5m. This was driven by the performance of its services arm, including PTTS, from which revenues grew 147%, and Playtech’s core casino component, up 32%.
Poker was down 18%, but CFO Ron Hoffman said this had stabilised in the fourth quarter. “It’s yet to be seen how the contribution of Betfair, Unibet, Betclic Everest will contribute to our poker revenues, but definitely we see that the decline has stopped and the trend has changed.”
Weizer also paid tribute to the “vision and courage” of William Hill boss Ralph Topping for embarking on the William Hill Online JV with Playtech in 2008, with the companies recently agreeing a £424m valuation for the software provider’s stake. “The majority of the £424m is pure profit. Making close to half a billion euros in four years is an overwhelming success.” Founder and 49.66% shareholder Teddy Sagi could make more than £200m if investors back a full capital return of the WHO proceeds over investment in the business or further JVs.
Article written by Stephen Carter
