Playtech buys Virtue Fusion for bingo push
Playtech has bought bingo supplier Virtue Fusion, strengthening its hand in the bingo vertical and increasing the liquidty of its network by roughly seven times, and marking its third major deal in little over two months...
PLAYTECH has bought bingo supplier Virtue Fusion, the software supplier’s third major deal in little over two months.
Virtue Fusion is one of bingo’s most liquid networks, with peak traffic of more than 6,000 players, and will swell Playtech’s existing bingo network by roughly seven times.
The UK company has more than 20 licensees including Bet365, Crown Bingo, Ladbrokes, Mecca, Paddy Power, Sky, Virgin and Playtech joint venture partner William Hill. As reported on EGRmagazine.com last week, it will also supply an end-to-end solution for PartyGaming for the launch of Party’s Foxy Bingo brand in Sweden.
The deal is for an initial consideration of £29m (33.4 million), plus a bonus payment of up to £7m based on EBIT performance in 2010, and to be payed in the first quarter of 2011.
Playtech chief executive Mor Weizer said: “We were always recognised as the market leaders in casino and poker and the only missing part for us was bingo. We realised last year that it was the fastest growing part of the industry and that we should be leading the way in online bingo too.”
The company’s move to strengthen its position in the bingo market follows Playtech’s acquisition of casino gaming software company Gaming Technology Solutions (GTS) in December 2009, and the formation of its SciPlay joint-venture with US lottery giant Scientific Games to deliver online technology to government-backed lottery operators last month.
Like GTS, which Playtech will use to develop skill games that are allowed under regulated markets, the Virtue Fusion acquisition fits into Playtech’ focus on regulated markets. The biggest market for bingo is the UK, which is already regulated and where Virtue Fusion is one of the biggest bingo suppliers, and as a low-stakes game, bingo is typically one of the earlier verticals to be regulated in new markets.
Weizer said: “bingo will play a key role in regulated markets and I think what happened in Italy [where bingo was regulated next after poker] will happen elsewhere.”
In other strategic moves into the bingo acquisitions in recent months, 888 bought Wink Bingo in December, while rival PartyGaming bought Cashcade.
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