Tabcorp, a premier gambling company based in Australia, has announced its willingness to bid for Western Australia’s TAB business. The state government had already declared that the business is available for purchase, for an estimated amount of around A$500m (€310m/$353m/£270m).

Western Australia’s TAB is the last remaining government-owned betting agency in Australia. State Treasurer Ben Wyatt explained details of the bidding proposal.

Tabcorp, Australia’s biggest gambling company, said in a submission to the state government, published on Tuesday, that it would be “ready to respond” to a sale process. Tabcorp and Tatts – which have since merged – both held talks about buying the TAB more than three years ago. The sale was first mooted four years ago, and the TAB was officially listed for sale in the state’s 2015 budget, but political squabbling and divisions within the racing industry led to delays.

Under the sale, TAB outlets would for the first time be able to offer popular virtual animated horse and greyhound horse racing products. The sale of the TAB comes as Wyatt also announced the sale of the electricity grid in a bid to boost state coffers.

Singtel, wholly-owned subsidiary Optus and regional associates Airtel, AIS, Globe and Telkomsel, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to cooperate and jointly leverage their strengths to grow the gaming and esports ecosystem in Southeast Asia, Australia and India.

The MOU brings together the six members of the Singtel Group to partner across the gaming space, including scaling up esports, content creation and distribution, and collaboration with the broader gaming ecosystem. This was announced at the Singtel Group’s inaugural multi-title and regional esports league, PVP Esports Championship, which took place from 5 to 7 October and featured some of the biggest international names in gaming.

The Singtel Group will tap on its telco assets, strong knowledge of its local markets in Asia and mobile customer base of more than 700 million to explore opportunities to enable esports enthusiasts and gamers in their passion. As more than 200 million customers across the Group play games on a regular basis, Singtel, Optus, Airtel, AIS, Globe and Telkomsel intend to work together to develop solutions and services for gamers and fans in the region. This includes access to high quality local, regional, and global esports competitions, as well as original content and exclusive programming.

Mr Arthur Lang, CEO of Singtel’s International Group, said, “Gaming is part of a digital world without borders, where fast network speeds, connectivity and local market knowledge are critical. It is a natural and perfect fit for Singtel and our partners. We are committed to working as a group to better serve the gamers in our networks, and in the region. We hope to play a major regional role as an enabler of esports, to collectively grow the gaming ecosystem, and give gamers the support and recognition they deserve.”

The number of gamers in the region is projected to surge from 400 million in 2017 to more than 700 million by 2021, with esports viewership numbers expected to double and reach over 40 million by 2019.

Singtel is the organiser and owner of the PVP Esports Championship and the content related to this event, which enables Singtel to distribute the event content globally. The event attracted over 3,600 teams competing in both Dota 2 and Arena of Valor for a US$300,000 prize pool, and was broadcast in seven languages – English, Bahasa Indonesia, Chinese, Korean, Russian, Tagalog and Thai.

Singtel is collaborating with Optus and regional associates Airtel, AIS, Globe and Telkomsel to build an ecosystem of digital services such as mobile payments and gaming for customers. Earlier this month, the Singtel Group extended Singtel Dash, its mobile wallet, to be used overseas and announced the launch of VIA, its cross-border mobile payment alliance, with AIS and Kasikornbank, Thailand’s largest digital bank. This payment alliance will be progressively expanded to include other regional associates and non-telcos.

Specialist slot developer Lightning Box has relocated to new offices after doubling its staff in the last 18 months.

The Australian supplier, who are gearing up for next month’s G2E show in Las Vegas, has taken up residence in 120square metres of prime waterfront in Sydney’s iconic Darling Harbour.

Managing Director Peter Causley said the growing team was enjoying its new surroundings as it developed innovative slots for both the European online market and North American land-based and social ones.

He added: “We saw the benefit of taking on new premises with such great appeal to help with both staff retention and to encourage the best applicants to come forward as we expand even further.

“It’s also perfect for client visits, of course, and really helps with creativity when we are coming up with new game concepts and features.”

Lightning Box recently released Astro Pug a 5-reel slot featuring their patented Reelfecta reels and boasting a host of well-known Asian symbols, as well as the loveable canine hero of the title.

The new game went live with an exclusive debut on Casumo on September 5^th and will go on general release to all Lightning Box clients via Quickfire on September 19th.

It joins an ever-expanding portfolio of titles that are available across desktop, mobile, and land-based machines, including Lightning-Horseman, Silver Lioness4x, Respin Rhino, and Stellar-Chilli Gold x2

About Lightning Box:

Lightning Box is a leading multi-channel supplier of video slots to the betting and gaming industries. The independent studio, based in Sydney, Australia, provides high quality gaming content to land-based, online, and social casinos around the world. It was founded in 2004 by former Aristocrat and IGT designers Peter Causley and David Little. Their combined forty years’ experience has helped the studio produce a number of commercially successful games, such as Stellar Jackpots-Chilli Goldx2, Dolphin Gold, Dragon Palace, Frogs ‘n Flies, Astro Cat, Silver Lion and Five Pirates. These, and their most recent releases, regularly feature in the top performing games of clients, including NYX, Everi and Incredible Technologies. For more information about Lightning Box, please visit www.lightningboxgames.com