Unibet

Unibet Group plc.
Public
Traded as OMX: UNIB SDB
Industry Online gambling
Founded 1997
Headquarters Malta
Key people
 Henrik Tjärnström (CEO)
Slogan By players, for players
Website www.unibet.com

Unibet is a company that operates with online gambling and offers products such as online casino, online poker, online bingo, sports betting, soft games, scratch cards and live betting. The headquarters of the company is located in Malta and is owned by Nordic OMX listed public company Unibet Group plc. In 2012, the company’s turnover was GBP 197.2 million.[1] Unibet has 9.7 million customers in over 100 countries and over 650 employees.[2]

Unibet Group Plc. includes 3 brands; Unibet as a branded site, Maria with online bingo and casino, and Kambi as sportsbook operator. Part of their primary markets are Netherlands, Belgium and the Nordic region. There are 9 million customers in more than 100 countries, which makes the group to be one of the biggest online gambling operators.

Unibet provides diverse products related to online gambling such as live betting, poker, supertoto, bingo, casino games, such as roulette, black jack, etc. through their site, as well as through digital television and mobile systems.

Awards

There are several awards that Unibet have won: eGaming Review Sports Betting Operator of the Year (2006, 2008 and 2009) and Live Operator of the Year (2009).[3]

Unibet Open

Unibet runs a series of live Texas Hold’em Poker tournaments in Europe called Unibet Open. The first Unibet Open was held in Warsaw in 2007, after which it took place in 2008 in such cities as Madrid, Milan and Warsaw once again. The Unibet Open European poker tour was held in 2009 in London, Budapest, Prague, Algrave and Warsaw and in 2010 in Budapest, Bulgaria (Golden Sands), Paris, Prague and Valencia. It continued in 2011 in Barcelona, Dublin, Riga and Malta. The 2012 Tour started in February in Prague and continued onto Paris in May and London in August. The sixth season, starring the 25th Unibet Open Tournament (in Cannes) started in Copenhagen, following by Troia (Portugal), Cannes and Riga in December 2013. The seventh season will begin again in Copenhagen followed by events in Tallinn, Cannes and an as yet undisclosed fourth location.

Short history

Unibet was created in 1997. In 1998, the company was authorized to run a betting operation in the UK. In the same year, Unibet opened its office in UK and commenced trading as a betting operator taking bets over the phone. One year later, internet websites were launched in Swedish and English. In 2000 Unibet Group Plc. was incorporated and the same year Unibet International was given a license and they established an office in Malta. In 2001 the Unibet site was launched in a new version and translated into 12 languages. Two years later - a new website release along with new products, such as live betting and the online casino. In the same year, the number of registered customers increased to 256,000 in over 100 countries. In 2004 the company was listed on the NASDAQ OMX Nordic Exchange and the mobile platform was launched along with Supertoto, poker, scratch card and “Pokermiljonen” games. In 2005 Unibet acquired MrBookmaker.com.[4] In 2006 the company website was translated into 20 languages. In the same year the new holding company was established in Malta and Bingo was launched. In 2007 Maria Holdings was acquired in order to strengthen the position in Bingo and on the Nordic markets.[5] In 2008 the company acquired Scandinavia’s largest trotting community, Travnet. In the same year, G4 (Global Gaming Guidance Group), certified Unibet following their Code of Practice regarding responsible gambling, and also certified to be compliant with eCOGRA’s standards (www.ecogra.org). Unibet became a member of the European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA), which brings together 12 of the top gaming companies in Europe. In 2009, the company has registered customers from more than 150 countries. In 2010 Unibet obtained the French agreement for online sport, horse betting and poker.[6] In 2011 the company acquired EurosportBet and EurosportPoker, a French operator of sportsbook and poker products.[7] In the same year Unibet was awarded one of 48 licenses for the newly re-regulated Danish market.[8] In 2012 Unibet acquired Betchoice (an Australian online bookmaker). Through their website Betchoice operate sport and racing betting in the Australian market.[9] In the same year Unibet acquired Bet24, a Danish online bookmaker.[10]

On the 3rd December 2013, Unibet announced that it was moving its poker operation away from the MPN network to offer a standalone poker site.[11] In April 2014 Unibet signed a deal with Thunderkick,[12] making them one of the first brands to support Thunderkick games.

Unibet Group Plc. purchased Bingo.com Ltd.’s www.bingo.com domain and its real money online gambling business for a total of $8 million effective December 31, 2014. Unibet paid $2 million in cash and the remaining balance was paid with the redemption of its 15,000,000 in common shares in Bingo.com at $0.40 per share.[13]

Unibet operates several online gambling products including bingo, casino, poker and sportsbook. In addition to its real money online gambling operation, Bingo.com is also recognized for its social bingo game, Trophy Bingo, which was not included in the deal. The sale of its online gambling business to Unibet will allow Bingo.com to focus on the social gaming market and further fund the puppy themed social gaming adventures of Trophy Bingo.

References

  1. ↑ "Unibet Group plc Investor Relations". Retrieved 19 April 2014.
  2. ↑ "About Unibet". Retrieved 24 December 2014.
  3. ↑ "Unibet wins Euro Sports Operator for second year running". EGR. Retrieved 19 April 2014.
  4. ↑ http://feed.ne.cision.com/wpyfs/00/00/00/00/00/09/37/55/wkr0012.pdf
  5. ↑ http://www.unibetgroupplc.com/corporate/templates/ObserverPage.aspx?id=512
  6. ↑ "Unibet received gaming licenses in France". Unibet. Retrieved 19 April 2014.
  7. ↑ "[2011-11-15 16:29] Unibet signs agreement to acquire the Solfive Group and re-enter the French market". Unibet. 2011-11-15. Retrieved 19 April 2014.
  8. ↑ "Danish Gambling Authority hands out first licences". Calvin Ayre Foundation. Retrieved 19 April 2014.
  9. ↑ "Unibet signs agreement to acquire Betchoice and enters the regulated Australian market". Unibet Group Investor. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
  10. ↑ Stagno-Navarra, Karl. "Unibet acquires Bet24 and transfers employees to Malta". MediaToday. Retrieved 19 April 2014.
  11. ↑ "Unibet Departing MPN to Offer Standalone Poker Site". Vita Ltd. 3 December 2013. Retrieved 19 April 2014.
  12. ↑ "Thunderkick Signs Deal With Unibet". Casino Reviewer. 7 April 2014. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
  13. ↑ "Bingo.com Sold to Unibet". latestbingobonuses.com/. 1 January 2015.

External links