In a move that enhances its established relationship with UK land-based and online sports betting operator Entain plc (LSE: ENT), formerly GVC Holdings, Evolution Gaming Group AB has launched its online gambling establishment services with the London-listed company’s Ladbrokes and Coral brand names.
The tactical offering, which builds on the collaboration in which the Sweden-based company already supplies entain in key European and US gaming markets, will follow with the operator’s online gaming brands Gala Casino and Gala Bingo in the UK.
LadbrokesCoral’s gaming director, Richard Barr, spoke about the launch in an official press release, stating that they were “immensely excited” to be providing Evolution’s “world-class online video games” to its countless players in the UK and worldwide.
Evolution will launch its full range of iGaming products on the Ladbrokes, Gala and Coral online platforms in the UK as part of the extended deal, with a selection of its unique live video game programs including Crazy Time, the multi-layered, bonus-rich video game launching in January 2020, and the live roulette variant Lightning Roulette; going live on Coral.co.uk and Ladbrokes.co.uk.
In the coming weeks, the Swedish iGaming innovator’s entire lineup of live gambling establishments and video game shows, consisting of the soon-to-be-released Spanish explorer-inspired adventure, Gonzo’s Treasure Hunt Live, together with the group’s first-person RNG (Random Number Generator) video games. All video games are/will be obtainable to gamers on desktop, smartphone and tablet.
Alongside the new Evolution video games offering, Ladbrokes, Gala and Coral players currently enjoy online slots titles from B2B operator brands NetEnt and Red Tiger.
Stating that the UK market is a “particularly important market” for them, Commercial Director, Europe for Evolution Gaming, Gavin Hamilton…
” We are delighted that Ladbrokes, Coral and Gala customers will now have access to the full range of Evolution Group online video games, including our truly cutting edge game developments.”
The announcement starts the heels of April 27 release of Evolution Gaming’s Interim Report for the period January-March 2021, which for the very first quarter of 2021 (Q1 2020) report a swell of 105 percent in operating profit to EUR 235.8 million (115.1 ); EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) to EUR160.1 million (64.1 ), an increase of 150 percent; net income to EUR132.0 million (54.2 ); and earnings per share (before dilution) to EUR0.62 (0.30 ).
On the other hand, Entain recently improved its earlier opening bid of AUS $3 billion to acquire the betting and media service of Australian bookmaker Tabcorp Holdings Limited after modifying the offer to AU$3.5 billion (EUR2.2 billion). The acquisition, described by Tabcorp Holdings ‘s board as “heavily undervalued”, would have given the FTSE100 company immediate control of around 4,400 land-based sportsbooks across Australia.
According to a source, personal equity group Apollo and media successor Lachlan Murdoch have also shown interest in Tabcorp’s TAB betting division, while one of the biggest names in the Australian betting sector, Matthew Tripp, has also reportedly allied itself with Rupert Murdoch’s Fox Corp. (NASDAQ: FOXA) in a possible bid.
The betting division’s efficiency has reportedly caused anger among backers, as it has had to cede ground to online rivals such as Ladbrokes and Sportsbet for more than a decade since its 2017 AU$11 billion merger with Tatts Group.