Interactive

UK – Playtech enjoys double digit growth in 2016

By Phil - 28 February 2017

Playtech enjoyed a healthy year of growth in 2016 with total revenues up 12 per cent year-on-year with gaming up 21 per cent and mobile up 33 per cent.

Over 10 new customers signed in 2016 including Pokerstars, MaxBet, Mr Green and OPAP with significant contracts renewed with Paddy Power Betfair, William Hill, Rank and Betfred in 2017.

Alan Jackson, Chairman of Playtech, said: “The Gaming division once again delivered very strong growth. Sports saw a good second half performance following the acquisition of BGT with the newly formed Playtech BGT Sports bringing together all aspects of the Playtech’s sports offering creating a fully integrated, best-in-class sports betting technology. 2016 also saw the signing of more than ten new customers with ten new customer go-lives. 9 of out of 10 top customers are now on long-term contracts with Paddy Power Betfair, William Hill, Rank and Betfred all renewing in the past few months.

“The second half also saw the acquisition of CFH, enhancing Playtech’s position as it continues to build a B2B financials offering within its Financials division. The year was a strong year for M&A with €240m spent on acquisitions including BGT, CFH, Quickspin and ECM.Management remains confident of a strong performance in 2017 and beyond.”

Average daily revenue in the Gaming division for the first 51 days of Q1 2017 was up 26 per cent on Q1 2016.

Mr Jackson added: “The Gaming division continued to deliver, with exceptional growth in the flagship Casino offering driven by the largest portfolio of games boasting some of the most popular content across the industry. Sports saw a good second half performance following the acquisition of BGT, and later in the year with the newly formed Playtech BGT Sports bringing together all aspects of Playtech’s sports offering creating the only true omni channel, best-in-class sports betting technology. Playtech will always remain a customer focused business and 2016 saw the signing of more than ten new customers with ten new customer go-lives. The trend of securing longer term agreements with key customers continued with nine out of ten now on long-term contracts following the renewals with Paddy Power Betfair, William Hill, Betfred and Rank all renewing in the first two months of 2017 alone.”

“While we have been successful in extending relationships into new verticals and new geographies, due to regulatory changes in Europe, Latin America and elsewhere, we are seeing a fundamental change in the type of licensees we do business with,” he added. “Given our experience of regulated and newly regulated markets, Playtech is seeing an increase in early stage customers in new or emerging regulatory regimes. Over a short period, as the new regulatory framework is being introduced, these operators become amongst the largest and best performing online operators in the new market.”
Playtech launched over 55 new games in the year, including the Age of the Gods suite.
Mr Jackson said; “This has been a highly successful launch and has been very popular with licensees and is based on an extensive data analysis ahead of the games development to ensure its appeal to customers.”

Playtech’s scale also allows it to launch branded content. After the period end, in February 2017 Playtech signed its largest ever, multi-year, exclusive branded games content deal with Warner Bros Consumer Products, on behalf of DC Entertainment, to license and develop an extensive catalogue of iconic DC-branded film and television properties into leading Omni-channel casino games, with the deal being announced at the start of ICE 2017. Drawing from the worlds of such Warner Bros. Pictures titles as Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, The Dark Knight Trilogy, Suicide Squad and the Studio’s upcoming action adventure Justice League, Playtech, the world’s leading gaming content and software, systems and services supplier, will develop a series of Omni-channel DC-branded slot, bingo and roulette games, available across multiple channels and devices.

As a result of extensive development during 2016 Playtech launched post period end an industry first new slot game, Tiki Paradise, that rewards customers with unique enhanced experiences, features and bonuses through the use of Omni-channel play.

Mr Jackson explained: “Launched across all channels and devices with Coral throughout its 1,800 shop estate, Tiki Paradise is a true omni-channel game that rewards players as they unlock enhanced features and functionality by playing in-shop, online and on mobile, made possible due to Playtech’s cutting-edge platform technology and unified system that enables cross-channel play. Given the first feedbacks and performance we are confident that omni channel content will play a key role in the success of our omni channel approach and will become a necessary and important element of the offering provided by retail and online operators delivering a single coherent user experience across retail, online and mobile. The game is equally beneficial to the licensees as it both increases Omni-channel signs ups and incentivises the players to remain loyal to the brand within the eco system created between retail and online in the most efficient and responsible way. The launch of Tiki Paradise is the first of a series of new omni channel games expected to launch in the coming months.”

The year also saw Playtech working with Warner Bros. Studios to develop a virtual sports product.

“Following almost a year-long process of exhaustive and record-breaking motion capture initiatives at Warner Bros Studios and 3D design and modelling work at the Playtech Studios, both in the UK, Playtech Virtual products using professional sportsmen and women in competition conditions and techniques and technology used in films such as Avatar, Godzilla and James Bond’s Quantum of Solace, in order to capture hundreds of hours of movement and footage, the result of which is as close to the real game as anyone has ever achieved with compelling graphics, gameplay and extensive betting opportunities,” Mr Jackson explained. “All Playtech’s virtual sports products are future proof and developed with tournament, matches and leagues in mind. Playtech also concentrated heavily on back-end simulation, ensuring real-life football, tennis and basketball was replicated from a gameplay, user experience and an odds and betting perspective. The first half of 2016 saw the launch of a pioneering Virtual product in 2016, including best ever Virtual Tennis and a Virtual Sports Football accumulator or Acca across all platforms, channels and devices. Replicating a real-life football Acca, the Virtual Sports Football Accumulator ‘out of the box’ product has been rolled out across 100 UK Coral shops with the potential to deploy it across 1,000 outlets in the next 12 months.”