UK Betting Giants Expand Their Online Gambling Reach

New casino games, new relations and new opportunities

The United Kingdom is the biggest gambling market in the world, so it is only normal for this to be the place to find some of the industry-leading operators. Sports betting normally holds the top spot in the UK but the large companies have expanded their offers over the internet to include casino games and poker. Several betting giants made headlines this week by making new partnerships, launching more casino games, extending their deals and looking towards new markets.

Ladbrokes launches mobile Realistic games

Ladbrokes is one of the biggest betting operators in the United Kingdom and casino players can also enjoy a wide variety of games on the site. The Ladbrokes online casino can be downloaded or accessed in Instant Play in order to accommodate different types of players. To make sure that users never miss an opportunity to play a few casino games and win big prizes, Ladbrokes also offers mobile apps for smartphones and tablets.

The latest games added to the mobile platform are iPhone Blackjack and Roulette, developed by Realistic Games. The new titles are available for download on Apple’s UK App Store and can be played for real money.

The graphics look very good and the animations are smooth as the Roulette app shows a 3D wheel and ball movement. It seemed that the new games will be a hit with the Ladbrokes casino customers given the fact that Roulette got over one thousand downloads in the first day of its launch and the numbers continue to grow.

Realistic Games spokesperson declared that they are happy with the quality of the games and that they will now look to offer Flash and HTML5 versions for the market leading titles.

William Hill acquires Tom Waterhouse

In an attempt to extend its reach in Australia, UK bookie William Hill acquired TomWaterhouse.com in a deal rumored to be worth as much as US$100 million. The deal was announced last week but rumors started surfacing last month as several European betting giants were taking an interest in Tom’s property.

The Australian online bookie was facing some debt and had just lost a big sponsorship deal with the National Rugby League which lowered the price for William Hill significantly. Tom will remain the managing director and will join the Hill management team in Australia in order to look for the best way to get the most out of this deal.

Betfair extends deal with Featurespace

Featurespace is the largest adaptive behavioral analytics company in the world and its relationship with UK betting giant Betfair seems to be doing very well. The two parties have agreed to extend their deal for another five years. The ARIC engine will receive an update from Featurespace as a result of this agreement and it will help Betfair monitor fraudulent patterns.

Online gambling companies are constantly looking for ways to improve their security and prevent fraud; it is becoming increasingly sophisticated and quite complicated to stay ahead of the curve.

Paddy Power looks towards New Jersey

While it is not from the UK, Irish betting company Paddy Power has recently took the necessary steps to get an online gaming license in New Jersey. The state has legalized online casino games and has started going through applications, with the first sites expected to go live in November.

Paddy Power is already licensed in one state and currently operates a small team in the United States, looking to translate the success from Europe to America. The regulations in New Jersey only allow for operators that own a casino in Atlantic City and their partners to have access to the online gambling market but Paddy Power is just looking to get a good position for now.

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