OpenBet hits the bullseye with Matchroom Sport, Professional Darts Corporation and World Snooker
1 November 2011
OpenBet announces worldwide exclusive licensing agreement to develop and distribute new casino content on leading sports brands
Leading online gaming software supplier, OpenBet, is proud to announce it has teamed up with renowned sports promoters, Matchroom Sport, Professional Darts Corporation and World Snooker, to develop a range of online slot and mini-casino games. PDC Darts and World Snooker-themed games will be the first to launch in December 2011 with a stellar line up of new casino content, based on numerous leading sports brands and events, taking place throughout 2012.
The exclusive worldwide licensing agreement will see OpenBet design and build a selection of games themed around Matchroom, PDC, and World Snooker’s core sports programming and content, branching out eventually beyond darts and snooker to include pool, golf, boxing and sports fishing. The games will be made available to OpenBet’s roster of leading online sportsbook and gaming operators - which includes Ladbrokes, William Hill, Paddy Power, Bluesquare and Sky Bet - in the UK and legal international markets across the globe.
Matchroom Sport was set up in 1982 by the legendary sports promoter Barry Hearn and has been instrumental in the rise of some of the world’s biggest sports personalities. It is now the leading supplier of darts, boxing, golf and sports fishing TV content and programming, and via its subsidiaries, PDC and World Snooker, organises the world’s leading darts and snooker tournaments.
The World Darts Championship, Premier League Darts and World Matchplay head the PDC’s roster whilst World Snooker events include the Masters, Premier League Snooker and the World Snooker Championship sponsored by Betfred.com.
OpenBet and Matchroom will debut the branded content to coincide with the upcoming PDC Ladbrokes World Darts Championship. The first tranche of games releases will feature the highest-profile personalities from PDC and Matchroom portfolio, including the greatest player to ever throw a dart, Phil ‘The Power’ Taylor.
The World Darts Championship, won last year by Taylor’s protégé Adrian Lewis, takes place this year between 15 December 2011 and 2 January 2012 at its spiritual home, Alexandra Palace in London, and will be broadcast live in its entirety by Sky Sports and also in Holland, Germany and Australia.
Further content will be launched to coincide with the Masters Snooker later in the month, which is also moving to ‘Ally Pally’ for the first time in 2012 and will be broadcast by the BBC, Eurosport and CCTV China. Last year the tournament was won by Chinese sensation Ding Junhui who beat Marco Fu 10-4 in the final.
Barry Hearn, Chairman of Matchroom Sport, PDC and World Snooker, added; “OpenBet was the obvious partner for us. Their reputation for delivering innovative products is second to none and they have unrivalled relationships with the majority of operators in the UK. Our project to develop games aims to coincide with the numerous sporting events that we host throughout the year, giving operators the opportunity to maximise the return on their investment and allow them to keep their content relevant.”
David Loveday, Chief Executive of OpenBet, commented; “This is a fantastic license agreement for OpenBet and will enable us to produce exclusive casino content utilising some of the biggest names in numerous popular sports. Matchroom is another example of the quality partners we look to work with, enabling us to deliver products that stand out in the marketplace and are exceptionally relevant to our customer’s client base. PDC, Matchroom and World Snooker are fantastic brands and we are proud to be working together on this exciting, action-packed project that we are confident will prove a winner with sports fans all year round.”
For more information about OpenBet, visuals to demo a game and possible interviews, please contact:
Susanna Underwood or Jayne Cardnell
E: susanna.underwood@openbet.com or jayne.cardnell@openbet.com
T: +44 (0)20 8742 1600
Notes to Editors:
About OpenBet Ltd (www.openbet.com)
OpenBet is the world’s leading technology provider of interactive gaming and betting solutions. OpenBet’s platform enables operators to provide their customers with the ability to bet and play in multiple languages and currencies across all distribution channels including web, mobile devices, retail outlets, call centres and interactive digital television, with a single log-in and a centralised OpenBet Account.
OpenBet's platform and products are used by the world's leading gaming operators including Ladbrokes, William Hill, Betfair, SkyBet, Paddy Power and most recently Sportsbet in Australia. OpenBet also works with a number of government-backed organisations including the Tote, Macau Slot (Asia), PMU (France) and BCLC (British Columbia Lottery Corporation) and Loto Quebec (North America).
OpenBet was founded in 1996. In 2008, OpenBet acquired Electracade and, in 2010, strengthened its retail offering with the acquisition of Alphameric Solutions Ltd. In 2011, Vitruvian Partners and OpenBet’s management successfully completed a management buyout of the business.
About Matchroom Sport (www.matchroomsport.com)
Matchroom Sport is one of the world’s largest producers of original sports content with over 1000 hours of televised sport created annually. Over the last two decades, Matchroom Sport has established a portfolio of sports promotion which includes boxing, snooker, darts, pool, tenpin, fishing, poker, golf and bowls. Matchroom Sport also manages some of the world’s top competitors including Steve Davis, six-time World Snooker champion, Phil Taylor, 15-time World Darts champion, and Carl Froch, World Super-Middleweight Boxing champion.
About Professional Darts Corporation (www.pdc.tv)
The Professional Darts Corporation was formed in 1992 and is the world’s leading promoter of professional darts tournaments, with an annual tour offering over £5m in prize money. It stages tournaments in over ten countries and sells over 250,000 tickets annually as well as receiving live and delayed television coverage in around 60 territories.
About World Snooker Ltd (www.worldsnooker.com)
World Snooker Limited manages the global commercial rights of professional snooker under license from the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association – the world’s governing body. With over twenty-five tournaments in ten different countries World Snooker tournaments offer over £6m in prize money. World Snooker tournaments are broadcast Live on BBC, Eurosport, CCTV 5 (China), Shanghai Media Group (China), Now TV (Hong Kong) and Showtime Arabia reaching over 75 countries and more than 481 million households world-wide.
