Playtech is looking to mobile and its PokerStrategy affiliate acquisition to stabilise and recover its struggling iPoker business, the world’s leading igaming supplier has revealed.
Addressing analysts at Playtech’s H1 earnings call in the wake of the company unveiling a 17% decline in poker revenues, CEO Mor Weizer said that with several initiatives underway and the acquisition of PokerStrategy: “We believe the worst is now behind us. While the poker market remains challenging, it does appear to have stabilised, with a low single digit fall between H1 2013 and H1 2012.”
In addition to adding new blue chip licensees to the network - the Playtech boss reminding analysts that “Betfair, Betclic and Unibet all launched during the first half” - Weizer told analysts he believed the mobile channel, conspicuous by its zero contribution to date, would offer “real opportunities for [poker] operators to attract a new audience”, with products set to launch across multiple mobile operating platforms and geographies in H2.
The Playtech boss said: “iPoker has just this week launched Bet365, Winner, Titan, Betfred and Coral on mobile [HTML5] with further licensees following in the second half of the year.
“We also have approval from the French app store to launch a native iOS app for Everest Poker. Additionally, by the end of the year, we plan to introduce a ground breaking tablet-optimised version of our poker product, with many new features. We adapt and we evolve.”
The main gaming supplier to Bet365, Paddy Power, William Hill, Titan also said new tournament features and structures to attract players which launched during H1 would eventually integrate with the recently acquired PokerStrategy.com affiliate business, driving down player acquisition costs via more efficient use of marketing spend.
The Playtech boss also revealed that prior to the €38.3m acquisition of the poker school and player community in July of this year: “Many, including Playtech’s largest licensees, I have to say PTTS included, have tried unsuccessfully to replicate the PokerStrategy poker school, and failed every time.”
CFO Ron Hoffman also told analysts Playtech was in discussion with one of the two larger customers that terminated their contracts with PokerStrategy during 2012 and 2013, understood to be 888 and PartyPoker owner bwin.party, “to basically reverse the situation with respect to the termination.” He also emphasised that the current run-rate of the business would be unaffected either way.
“There is a tail, 24 months, before it will have any effect. In addition to that, we have signed a new licensee for PokerStrategy in parallel, so some of this I guess will be naturally mitigated over the next 24 months.”
Article written by Stephen Carter
