bwin.party Bets $50 Million on Social Media

Another iGaming firm has indicated in a big way they understand the importance of social media. bwin.party announced this week they will spend $50 million over the next two years to create a new social games platform called ‘Win’.
The plans include a $23 million buyout of two eastern European social gaming developers, Velasco and Orneon. bwin.party said the investment includes several existing social gaming business contracts and a team of 330 software engineers.
Immediate plans for bwin.party’s social media strategy include the creation of a poker-based social gaming product. The company also hopes to release a casino and sports-book application by the end of the year.
The total $50 million investment also includes plans to launch a social games studio called ‘Win’.
Barak Rabinowitz, head of bwin.party’s social gaming strategy, said, “Social games, in general, are games whose fun is derived from the social interaction of the users, or games that are distributed on social networks such as Facebook, smartphones and other platforms.”
New gaming content will be released through ‘Win’ every two weeks. The company added that they expect the new division to be profitable within two years and to boost revenues through in-game advertisements that direct players towards bwin.party’s iGaming products.

The investment represents a big belief on the part of bwin.party in the importance of an effective social media strategy. Other iGaming companies, including Betfair and PKR, have taken similar strides recently in developing their exposure on social media platforms like Facebook.
This news comes a week after bwin.party announced a €33 million tax settlement with Spanish authorities in hopes of acquiring a gaming license in that country’s newly regulated market.
Shares of BPTY.L fell 0.7 pence or 0.58% on the first full day of trading following the company’s social gaming investment.
In the video below, Rabinowitz and Co-CEO Norbert Teufelberger discuss the details of the investment and their social media strategy for the future.