Latest News

Pokies Company Aristocrat Moves To Mobile Gaming With $1.3B Acquisition

Published

6 years ago

January 16, 2018

Aristocrat Moves To Mobile Gaming With $1.3B Acquisition

Reading Time: 3 minutes

The Sydney-based gambling machine manufacturing giant Aristocrat Leisure has enjoyed its prominence in the gambling industry for years as the second largest manufacturer of slot machines in the world. Now the company is moving into the digital gaming world as they have completed a billion-dollar takeover of a US-based casual gaming company known as Big Fish Games.

Big Fish Games Acquisition

Aristocrat welcomed 2018 with an announcement that they’ve completed the acquisition of Seattle’s Big Fish Games for $1.3 billion. Founded in 2002, Big Fish Games is the developer and distributer of many popular PC and mobile games such as the popular Mystery Case Files series. The company has developed both premium paid and free-to-play social casino games such as Big Fish Casino, Gummy Drop! and Fairway Solitaire. Big Fish Casino continues to be the company’s most successful title, regularly ranking in the top five most popular apps in the US.

The acquisition of Big Fish Games solidifies Aristocrat’s efforts in recent years to establish itself as a top player in the online social gaming market. As the online gambling industry continues its strong growth in the recent years, Aristocrat’s decision to tap the younger and more technologically savvy market will see the company looking to take advantage of the massive digital gaming push.

Aristocrat Expanding With Each Acquisition

The Australian pokies giant completed a strategic acquisition prior to its deal with Big Fish Games. Aristocrat bought out Israeli gaming company Plarium for $635 million a few months prior to the Big Fish acquisition. The Plarium deal started in August and was completed in December and added to Aristocrat’s impressive portfolio – Vikings: War of Clans which is Plarium’s most successful title.

Back in 2014, Aristocrat also acquired Video Gaming Technologies for $1.3 billion to secure its strength in the gambling machine business in North America. According to Adam Krejcik, analyst at Eilers & Krejcik Gaming, Aristocrat saw an estimated $292 million in digital revenue in the period that ended September 30, 2017. This is a 41 percent increase in digital revenue from 2016, which includes a $93-million boost in social casino games revenue.

Riding its digital growth momentum, the Big Fish Games acquisition will further Aristocrat’s position in the digital gaming sphere. The deal has effectively doubled the size of the company’s growing digital arm, which now accounts for 38 percent of Aristocrat’s total revenue. It has also made Aristocrat, the second largest provider of social casino games in the world, next to Chinese-owned Playtika. Aristocrat’s wide range of social casino offerings now include free-to-play online poker, table games, slots and bingo games for the smartphone and PC.

The $1.3 billion sum that Aristocrat is paying to acquire Big Fish is very close to the amount Churchill Downs paid when it bought the company in 2014.

In a statement, Trevor Croker, chief executive officer of Aristocrat, said “The strategic and financial benefits of this acquisition are highly compelling. Big Fish’s digital-first social casino content and industry leading meta-game capability and applications are highly complementary to Aristocrat’s existing and industry-leading land-based digital content business.”

Aristocrat Taking A Chance On Big Fish Games

Indeed, after the Big Fish Games acquisition, Krejcik estimates Aristocrat’s digital arm to generate over $1.1 billion in revenues and $250 million in EBITDA by the end of 2018. If Aristocrat plays their hand well, they may well be poised to overtake American video game developer Zynga, who currently has a $3.5 billion market value.

Aristocrat first came out with their plans to buy out Big Fish in November 2017 and the news was flagged by several of their investors. According to Macquarie Research, Big Fish has not been performing as well as its rivals in the digital segment for the past few years. The company was only able to deliver 2 percent revenue growth when its segment has been continuously growing at 15 per cent a year. Because of this, the acquisition announcement back in in November pulled Aristocrat’s share price at the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) down to almost 7 percent.

As with many mergers, the new acquisition comes with various risks. Krejcik mentioned that the difficulty in merging the two large-scale social gaming companies emanate largely from the fact that Aristocrat’s operations will be widespread in San Francisco, London, Israel, Oakland, Ukraine, and Seattle. The company will have to focus on global operations and look to diversify its offerings across the global digital gaming landscape.

Latest News

William Hill Announced as Official Betting Partner of Qipco Guineas Festival

Published

23 mins ago

April 25, 2024

Alan Campbell

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Leading bookmaker becomes official betting partner of first UK Classic meeting of 2024

William Hill has been announced as the new official betting partner of the Qipco Guineas Festival, the first UK Classic meeting of the season.

It’s the latest addition to William Hill’s spring racing roster, following sponsorship of The Lincoln Handicap at Doncaster, the Punchestown Champion Chase and its status as official betting partner of the Randox Grand National Festival.

The 2,000 and 1,000 Guineas headline the three-day meeting and the leading bookmaker will sponsor 15 races across the weekend with the Jockey Club Stakes, Palace House and Dahlia Stakes among the races now featuring the William Hill title.

Aidan O’Brien’s unbeaten superstar City of Troy is still all the rage for the 2,000 Guineas at 4/6 whereas Karl Burke’s Fallen Angel heads a competitive looking 1,000 Guineas market at 7/2.

“We’re delighted to become the official betting partner of the Qipco Guineas Festival, strengthening our relationship with The Jockey Club on the back of a fantastic Grand National Festival,” a spokesperson for William Hill, Lee Phelps, said. “It’s brilliant for William Hill to be associated directly with such a prestigious event at Newmarket, the home of the thoroughbred, for this season’s first two Classics. The company has a close connection with the history of the 2,000 Guineas as William Hill himself bred the 1949 winner, Nimbus, who then went on to win the Derby.

“We’re excited to be involved at racing’s key meetings and see the Qipco Guineas Festival as the perfect sponsorship as the British flat season kicks into gear.”

Newmarket – 2,000 Guineas: May 4, 2024

City Of Troy	4/6
Rosallion	4/1
Notable Speech	12/1
Henry Longfellow	12/1
Night Raider	16/1
Alyanaabi	16/1
Ancient Wisdom	16/1
Task Force	16/1
Ghostwriter	16/1
Iberian	20/1
BAR	25/1

Newmarket – 1,000 Guineas: May 5, 2024

Fallen Angel	7/2
Ylang Ylang	4/1
Dance Sequence	5/1
Ramatuelle	10/1
See The Fire	12/1
Content	12/1
One Look	14/1
Pretty Crystal	14/1
Buttons	20/1
Purple Lily	20/1
Porta Fortuna	20/1
Star Style	20/1
BAR	25/1

Gaming

Midjiwan Supports Reforestation Efforts With New Elyrion Tribe Skin In The Battle Of Polytopia

Published

25 mins ago

April 25, 2024

Adrienn Sarkany

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Midjiwan, the award-winning independent studio behind The Battle of Polytopia, is celebrating Elyrion (∑∫ỹriȱŋ) Tribe Week with a brand-new Midnight (₼idŋighţ) skin and donations to support reforestation.

Tapping into the Elyrion Tribe’s nature magic abilities, every purchase of an Elyrion item in the game will plant one real-world tree from April 22-28 2024. Midjiwan has teamed up with The Canopy Project, an organisation that works with global partners to reforest areas in urgent need of rehabilitation, combining The Battle Of Polytopia’s themes with a desire to make real change in the world. Previous years of Elyrion Tribe Week have resulted in the planting of over 12,000 trees.

The Elyrion Tribe is a mysterious group of elves, dedicated to defending their woodland home with their unique magic and connection with nature. Players using the Elyrion tribe have the ability to enchant animals into Polytaurs and summon powerful Fire Dragons.

Christian Lövstedt, General Manager at Midjiwan, commented:

“This is a hugely exciting partnership, allowing players to support the planet and contribute to reforestation whilst also accessing brilliant new content to use in The Battle Of Polytopia.”

Alongside donating to The Canopy Project, The Battle Of Polytopia also boasts a brand-new skin for the Elyrion Tribe! The Midnight skin allows players to create graves, build crypts, and summon demons in dark forests, all in service of the mysterious Shard of D’Naeh.

The Midnight skin re-skins the entire Elyrion Tribe as the Midnight Cult. Everything the Elyrion Tribe is all about – nature, enchantment, and sanctuary – is turned on its head, corrupted into a dark, twisted dystopia of itself.

Midjiwan has already invested €250,000 in solar power projects in rural areas around Africa, and other charitable projects. The studio continues to seek opportunities to combine its in-game creativity with real-world benefits. The Battle of Polytopia is available on Nintendo Switch, the App Store, Google Play, PC, and Tesla cars.

Bitcoin

Should iGaming Be Worried About 2024 Bitcoin Halving?

Published

37 mins ago

April 25, 2024

George Miller

Should iGaming Be Worried About 2024 Bitcoin Halving?

Reading Time: 2 minutes

In its LinkedIn newsletter, ‘The SOFTSWISS Special’, SOFTSWISS, a global tech expert with over 15 years of experience in iGaming, delves into the impact of Bitcoin Halving on the iGaming realm.

The recent historical moment of Bitcoin Halving took place on 19th April 2024. SOFTSWISS, a pioneer in crypto-friendly iGaming software, shares its insights and forecasts for how this event may shape the future of iGaming, shedding light on potential opportunities and challenges for industry stakeholders.

What is Bitcoin Halving?

The Bitcoin halving is a scheduled event that occurs approximately every four years or every 210,000 blocks. During this event, the reward for mining and verifying new blocks is reduced by 50%, resulting in miners earning only half the number of BTC per mined block.

Since its launch in 2009, Bitcoin’s mining reward has halved four times, occurring in 2012, 2016, 2020, and 2024. The recent April halving reduced the reward to 3.125 BTC per block. Such events are crucial for Bitcoin’s scarcity and inflation control, ensuring that the total supply never exceeds 21 million coins and aligning with its deflationary principles.

Historically, each halving event has resulted in a rise in Bitcoin’s price. This is attributed to the reduced supply and increased scarcity, although other market factors have also influenced these outcomes.

Exploring the Impact of Bitcoin Halving on the iGaming Industry

To provide an in-depth analysis of the Bitcoin Halving impact on iGaming, SOFTSWISS invited Bradley Peak, blockchain expert and tokenomics adviser, to share its anticipations.

Bets rise: The halving is expected to lead to an increase in Bitcoin’s value. If the trend of impressive price surges persists, Bitcoin-friendly iGaming brands could see a positive impact.
Crypto adoption increase: Implementing crypto-friendly models has the potential to boost player trust and transparency in iGaming. Additionally, it could rejuvenate unique gaming experiences like provably fair games and decentralised casinos.
Regulatory frameworks improvement: The recent Bitcoin halving could prompt regulatory bodies to reassess their stance on cryptocurrency gambling. This could lead to new regulations ensuring fairness, responsible gambling, and anti-money laundering measures in the crypto-driven iGaming sector.

Bradley Peak, blockchain expert, comments on the recent changes: “Any transformation will not be without its challenges. It is important to adapt – invest in employee learning and development, onboard crypto processing, and make sure your platform remains secure in the process.”

Explore the influence of the 2024 Bitcoin Halving on the iGaming industry in the fourth edition of The SOFTSWISS Special newsletter on LinkedIn.

About SOFTSWISS

SOFTSWISS is an international tech company supplying software solutions for managing iGaming projects. The expert team, which counts over 2,000 employees, is based in Malta, Poland, and Georgia. SOFTSWISS holds a number of gaming licences and provides one-stop-shop iGaming software solutions. The company has a vast product portfolio, including the Online Casino Platform, the Game Aggregator with thousands of casino games, the Affilka affiliate platform, the Sportsbook Platform and the Jackpot Aggregator. In 2013, SOFTSWISS was the first in the world to introduce a Bitcoin-optimised online casino solution.