Playtech Reports “Better Than Expected” Results, and Evolution Gaming Pens New Deal with Golden Nugget
The global markets may look doom and gloom for many at the moment as the world battles with the ongoing COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic that has sadly now infected over 5 million and killed 300,000 across the globe.
However, in every crisis, there is an opportunity—and many gambling firms are rising to the occasion.
The latest company to announce its trading figures for the first months of the pandemic period is Isle of Man-based online casino developer Playtech.
Despite the impact of the virus, which really began to hit at the end of February and in early March, Playtech reported a $112 million profit over Q1 of 2020.
Strategic Progress
This announcement saw the company’s share prices rise remarkably over this week, although they dipped again slightly on Thursday after Playtech’s shareholders overwhelmingly voted against the pay and benefits package for company top brass, including Chief Executive Mor Weizer.
Despite the non-binding nature of the vote (pay packages are voted on officially every three years), the vote demonstrates that 65% of Playtech shareholders are not in favor of the £2.9 million ($3.2 million) pay packet that will soon be heading the way of Mr. Weizer.
That’s despite the overall performance in Q1 defying many expectations, as the company managed to keep its cashflow up when some other gambling firms’ shares were tumbling precipitously.
“We have added new tier-one licensees, added over 20 new brands, and expanded agreements with some of our largest existing customers. Given this strategic progress, I am confident we will emerge stronger from this COVID-19 crisis”
said Mr. Weizer in Playtech’s performance release.
Paving the Way
Another online developer that has successfully navigated the choppy waters of the pandemic so far is the top dog live casino developer Evolution Gaming. So far in 2020, it has continued its US market expansion at some pace, and this week marked a new deal between the company and big-name physical casino operator Golden Nugget.
Online Golden Nugget players in New Jersey will now be able to access dozens of Evolution’s best-in-class live casino games, including its unique Lightning Roulette, Monopoly LIVE, Mega Ball, and other high-production-value game show-type titles from the European-based developer.
However, all games will be streamed from Evo’s dedicated American studio in Atlantic City with all the same custom-built studios and effects from its original studio in Riga, Latvia.
Golden Nugget customers could already access live casino games online, courtesy of developer Ezugi. These live games include casino classics like blackjack, roulette, and baccarat, but the new Evolution deal will greatly expand Golden Nugget’s range of unique titles on top of that.
“The new generation of Evolution live casino games will also help us serve broader player demographics, including sports bettors. This, we believe, will allow us collectively to further increase the share of online casino revenue attributed to live games”
Golden Nugget’s Senior Vice President – Thomas Winter.
This deal will also allow Golden Nugget’s select online partners in New Jersey, such as Betfair, Borgata, and BetAmerica, to add Evolution Gaming titles to their collections—a move that seems likely to happen considering Evo’s stellar reputation and award-winning productions.
Evolution Chief Commercial Officer Sebastian Johannisson called the deal a “key agreement,” saying it would provide “an additional strategic platform from which to introduce additional new games to the US, including titles that have already been very successful in the live casino space in Europe.”
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