Online casino specialists Cryptologic on verge of multinational sports betting deal

IRISH ONLINE casino gaming specialist Cryptologic is on the verge of signing a deal with multi-national internet sports betting operator Betclic and is preparing to launch a series of new games in partnership with multinationals DC Comics and Paramount Digital Entertainment.

The Dublin-based company, which is listed on the New York, Toronto and London stock exchanges, develops and licences for casino games such as blackjack and slot machines.

Existing customers include Irish bookmaker Paddy Power, as well as British operators such as Victor Chandler, Cheltenham Gold Cup sponsor Totesport and betting exchange Betfair.

It is understood that the company is expected to announce this week that it has recruited Malta-based sports betting group Betclic, which will offer Cryptologic games on its casino website.

Betclic is part of French giant Mangas and is primarily focused on sports betting; it has a particular focus on European football.

The group has businesses in 15 countries and, according to the most recent figures, has about 1.5 million customers.

Betclic is also working on developing its poker and casino offerings, which have become a standard part of online betting businesses.

Last week, it recruited former Ladies’ World Poker Tournament champion Isabelle Mercier as a consultant. Ms Mercier has worked in similar roles for some of the company’s rivals.

The deal is likely to be announced later this week, and Betclic will be the 30th licencee recruited by Cryptologic since it switched focus from operating its own online casino business to developing and selling software to other operators.

The Irish company has partnerships with DC Comics and Paramount Digital Entertainment – parent of Paramount Pictures – and develops games using both multinational groups’ characters.

This week, it is also expected to launch new blackjack and casino games featuring DC Comics hero Superman as well as Braveheart from Paramount’s biopic of Scottish rebel William Wallace, which starred Mel Gibson.

Cryptologic switched its emphasis under the leadership of current chief executive Brian Hadfield. A writedown in the value of a number of Asian investments meant the company made a loss of about €7 million before tax in the first six months of this year.

However, the company said in August that it returned to profitability in June, and added that it was on target to generate a surplus in the second half of the year.