Two British interactive television companies are getting together to create an offshore gaming platform. The company has been formed to take advantage of deregulation in the gaming market in the United Kingdom. It will be based in Alderney in the Channel Islands and will be the only licensed operator to support satellite, terrestrial and cable television, internet and mobile platforms with a single account.
Two Way Gaming is a joint venture between Two Way TV and Zone4Play. The two companies have worked together for the last four years, initially with the creation of a pay-to-play Casino Zone on cable television, and more recently in the roll-out of a number of live television gambling shows.
The new company will take over the operations of The Winner Channel on cable television. Two Way Gaming will also operate white label gambling services for Channel Five, Virgin Media Television and Teletext among others. It will take on the operations of Pitch Gaming, whose live shows include Red Hot Roulette.
The aim is to use television as the primary means of acquiring customers and to generate revenue through the other platforms. The emphasis on gaming follows the crisis in consumer confidence in premium rate voting services and anticipates changes in regulations on gambling in the United Kingdom.
Guy Templer, the Commercial Director of Two Way TV, will become the managing director of the new venture. “With the collapse of the call TV market and premium rate telephony competitions on television,” he said, “it has become very clear that there are significant market opportunities in bringing dynamic and entertaining gaming products to TV audiences.”
Two Way TV is a pioneer of interactive television and is also a licensed bookmaker. It is now majority owned by a division of Ingenious Media. Television executive Clive Jones has been appointed as non-executive chairman, working alongside chief executive Jean de Fougerolles.
Zone4Play is a developer of interactive software and technology for the betting and gaming industry, supplying services to bookmakers, gaming operators, and betting exchanges, among others.