Africa
FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ Official Hospitality Packages Set to Go on Sale in Nigeria
MATCH Hospitality has confirmed that leading sports management and marketing agency, Integral, has been appointed as its Sales Agent in Nigeria for the sale of the Official Hospitality Programme of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™.
MATCH Hospitality is the global rights holder and the only company appointed by FIFA to exclusively promote and sell, either directly or via a network of sales agents, official commercial hospitality packages for the FIFA World Cup 2022™, including guaranteed match tickets. MATCH Hospitality has successfully operated the FIFA Commercial Hospitality Programmes for the previous three editions of the FIFA World Cup™ and FIFA Confederations Cup in South Africa, Brazil and Russia, and of the FIFA Women’s World Cup™ in Germany, Canada and, most recently, France.
JAIME BYROM, Executive Chairman of MATCH Hospitality, said: “Qatar promises to deliver an amazing tournament that will capitalise on its principal attributes; the close proximity of its eight venues which are all located in or within short driving distance of Doha, and a fascinating region with unique attractions, spectacular state-of-the-art stadiums, and traditional Arabic hospitality. MATCH Hospitality strongly believes in the unique potential of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Official Hospitality Programme and in our ability to deliver truly ground-breaking and unprecedented sales globally. Our Sales Agents will be key to our success, and I am delighted to announce our decision to continue our long-standing collaboration with Integral in an exciting new chapter in our long-standing relationship.
I have no doubt that Integral will help deliver the best possible results for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and open the door to a Nigerian market ready for the extraordinary experiences promised by what will be an exceptional FIFA World Cup.”
DEOLU LAMIKANRA, Associate Director at Integral and Chief Revenue Officer added: “Integral is honoured to act as the Exclusive Sales Agent for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Official Hospitality Programme in Nigeria. Thanks to this agreement, our company will bring this territory a lot closer to the most coveted football competition in the world, offering fans a unique opportunity to purchase ticket-inclusive hospitality packages for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.”
Integral will also offer various services in conjunction with the hospitality packages, including flights, accommodation, end-to-end transportation and social experiences unique to this edition of the FIFA World Cup™.
MICHAEL KELLY, Chief Revenue Officer of MATCH Hospitality, said: “As part of our global tender process launched in February 2020, we have received proposals from most of the key territories from where we anticipate high demand for the Official Hospitality Programme for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. We have been most encouraged by the remarkable global response, which has further cemented our belief that despite the unprecedented events of recent months, there remains unwavering enthusiasm and interest in the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Official Hospitality Programme. Nigeria represents an important territory within our overall strategic sales operations for the FIFA Hospitality Programme and, working in partnership with Integral, we are extremely optimistic about its sales potential.”
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Africa
South Africa: Tribunal Grants Lottoland Interim Relief – Orders Google to Grant Lottoland Access to its Advertising Platform
The Competition Tribunal (“Tribunal”) has issued an interim order directing Google Ireland Ltd and Google South Africa (Pty) Ltd (collectively, “Google”) to permit Lottoland South Africa (Pty) Ltd (“Lottoland”) to access its advertising services known as “Google Ads”, for so long as Google permits any firm in South Africa to utilise Google’s Ads Services to advertise fixed-odds betting on the outcome of lotteries. The Tribunal’s order applies for a period of six months from its date, or the conclusion of a hearing into the prohibited practices alleged by Lottoland, whichever is the earlier.
This platform enables advertisers to display ads to users who utilise Google search, with Google Ireland acting as the service provider for Google Ads in South Africa.
The Tribunal’s order follows an interim relief application by Lottoland, a licensed bookmaker, which, inter alia, offers fixed-odds bets on the outcome of various lotteries around the world, including the South African national lottery, sporting events and other betting contingencies. Lottoland competes with other licensed bookmakers in South Africa such as Hollywood Bets, World Sports Betting, Betway, Betfred (which owns Lottostar) and Netbet (which trades as Sportingbet).
In summary, Lottoland alleged that Google terminated its access to Google Ads without justification while allowing access to its competitors, causing it financial harm and distorting competition in the market that Lottoland operates in, to the detriment of consumers.
Google contended that Lottoland’s offering of fixed-odds bets on the outcome of the national lottery in South Africa contravenes sections 57(1) and 57(2)(g) of the Lotteries Act. It submitted that in terms of its online advertising policies, which are designed to protect users, restrictions are placed on the promotion of certain gambling activities. Of particular relevance, the promotion of lotteries is limited to state-licensed entities and that this restriction is in place to ensure compliance with the provisions of the Lotteries Act.
Reasons for Decision
A non-confidential version of the Tribunal’s reasons will be published in due course once any confidentiality claims in relation to the reasons have been finalised with the parties involved. In deciding the matter, the Tribunal considered the following three factors holistically, balancing each factor against the other to determine what is reasonable and just:
• Evidence relating to the alleged prohibited practice;
• The need to prevent serious or irreparable damage to the applicant (Lottoland); and
• The balance of convenience.
The post South Africa: Tribunal Grants Lottoland Interim Relief – Orders Google to Grant Lottoland Access to its Advertising Platform appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Africa
SunBet Extends Online Betting Platform Contract with Bede Gaming Amid Record-Breaking Performance
SunBet Extends Online Betting Platform Contract with Bede Gaming Amid Record-Breaking Performance
Bede Gaming has secured a further contract extension with South African online sports betting brand SunBet, the digital arm of Sun International and one of the fastest growing operators in the SA online market.
The new contract renewal comes as SunBet reports record-breaking digital growth in its H1-24 performance report, including a 72% year-over-year (YoY) growth in revenue and 72% increase in active players, driving an 89% improvement in EBITDA.
As a leading supplier of software to the igaming industry, Bede has supported the ambitions of this customer with tailored features and services to achieve SunBet’s business objectives while delivering the highest cost efficiencies.
Since the launch of the SunBet Slots offering in 2022, Bede has provided various additional optimisations, including integrating 7 new game providers to SunBet.co.za, releasing enhancements to the existing Kambi Sportsbook integration functionality, and delivering bespoke training on product features such as Bede’s powerful rules engine and bonusing suite.
This year alone, Bede has partnered with SunBet’s operations to –
- Optimise environmental infrastructure, aiming to deliver run cost efficiencies that will reduce the total cost of ownership by 30% by the end of the year.
- Develop a bespoke aggregator tool to achieve cost-effective game content customisation via a streamlined South Africa-specific solution.
- Enter into the new regulated markets of Namibia and Botswana (due to launch in 2024).
Colin Cole-Johnson, Bede Chief Executive Officer.“It’s been fantastic to see SunBet grow throughout the course of our partnership, and I’m delighted by their commitment to Bede at this crucial point in their journey. Securing another extension on this contract is testament to our dedication to our customers.”
SunBet’s partnership with Bede dates back to 2017, when digital offerings to this market were restricted to sports betting and live casino. With the change to slot content regulation in the South African market in August 2022, SunBet has expanded its online offering through Bede’s platform environment and has seen substantial growth in revenue and performance as a result.
Simon Gregory, SunBet Chief Executive Officer Bede has been a strong long-term partner for us, supporting and delivering on SunBet’s growth ambitions with quality and expertise. I’m very much looking forward to these next steps, especially now as we approach new African expansions.”
The post SunBet Extends Online Betting Platform Contract with Bede Gaming Amid Record-Breaking Performance appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Africa
EveryMatrix secures largest African turnkey deal with MBet partnership
EveryMatrix has sealed its largest turnkey platform partnership in Africa to date and will migrate MBet from its existing software to EveryMatrix technology.
The turnkey sportsbook agreement will see EveryMatrix power MBet with its award-winning technology in Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
MBet’s sports betting offering will be transformed via the high-performing, ‘always-on’ OddsMatrix digital sportsbook platform that includes access to a content catalogue of 170,000+ monthly live sportsbook events, empowering Odds Management control tools and comprehensive 11-sport pre-live and live Bet Builder.
The East African operator will also gain access to a suite of player-friendly localised products including in-house lightweight front end, USSD betting, SMS functionality, Do It Yourself manual event creation tools and a dynamic betslip engine supporting 50+ accumulator selections.
This enhanced sportsbook platform package will be further supplemented by the integration of additional EveryMatrix core turnkey products including casino productivity platform CasinoEngine, cross-product reward system BonusEngine and player management platform GamMatrix.
Migrating from 11-year-old proprietary technology to an EveryMatrix tech stack, MBet becomes the latest ambitious operator to join the rapidly expanding EveryMatrix platform network. Fresh from the recent acquisitions of FSB Technology and Fantasma Games, the industry’s fastest growing iGaming technology supplier now has more than 1,100+ staff across 15 global offices.
Established in 2013, MBet has developed into one of the leading sportsbook brands in the competitive East African region following the creation of a customer-centric proposition aided by a portfolio of local sports partnerships.
Ebbe Groes, CEO and co-founder, EveryMatrix, said: “This tier-1 African turnkey partnership sends a strong signal that EveryMatrix is rapidly becoming the ‘go-to’ platform provider for ambitious operators in the exciting Africa region.
“Africa presents a unique set of scalability challenges for platform providers and, with millions of bets processed daily across our OddsMatrix sportsbook platform, this is a region tailormade for the transformative capabilities of the EveryMatrix technology.
“I’m particularly pleased to see this deal follow our acquisition of FSB Technology. FSB has developed a strong client base across the African continent and the experience and product readiness from FSB was instrumental in EveryMatrix winning this landmark deal.
“We are pleased to welcome MBet to the EveryMatrix platform and look forward to propelling their offering into a market-leading proposition in Tanzania, DRC and beyond.”
Javier Diaz, CEO, MBet, said: “We are immensely proud of everything MBet has achieved in the last decade. Securing leading positions in Tanzania and the DRC has demonstrated the growth journey we’ve been on.
“What has become clear in the last 18 months is that to take us to the next level in our operations we need to be aligned with a leading third-party technology provider.
“After a thorough search we are confident that we have selected the right partner in EveryMatrix. The hyper growth they have achieved globally in the last several years has been inspiring and their end-to-end turnkey offering provides us with the content, tools, features and localised capabilities to differentiate our daily offering and scale MBet upwards onto a new level.”
The post EveryMatrix secures largest African turnkey deal with MBet partnership appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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