Philweb, Futurebet Systems of Canada tie up on gaming

PhilWeb Corp. has tapped Futurebet Gaming Systems of Canada as its exclusive partner in providing the technology, marketing, distribution and other services for all sports betting formats of gaming services to state gaming agency Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor).

Futurebet is one of the world’s largest developers and operators of Internet gaming applications offering complete end-to-end solutions for the online gaming industry.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, Philweb will said its agreement with Futurebet covers all North American sports including basketball, football, baseball leagues and other gaming events as may be approved by Pagcor within the Philippines.

Futurebet’s sportsbook system provides real-time wagering on hundreds of events in the United States alone.

"This new strategic alliance will allow us to continue fulfilling its commitment to Pagcor to develop the sports gaming industry, as well as firmly entrench ourselves in the Philippine gaming market," Philweb said.

Pagcor is a government-owned corporation that regulates all games of chance in the country. It was created in 1976 to oversee the operation of gaming casinos to generate funds for the government’s developmental projects and to help curb illegal gambling.

The gaming market in the Philippines is estimated to be worth over P100 billion per year, although illegal gaming accounts for half of the country’s gaming industry revenues.

The Internet gaming global market, on the other hand, is seen to reach $14.5 billion in 2006, with Internet sports betting and Internet casino dominating most of the revenues. Although US now accounts for half of industry revenues, the gaming market is changing and the biggest areas of growth are in places like Europe and Asia.

To take advantage of the promising bright prospects of the Internet gaming market, Pagcor is aiming to go global.

Philweb is also Pagcor’s partner for the latter’s Internet casino products. Pagcor has decided to offer casino games outside the land-based casinos via Internet casino stations. Compared with the land-based counterpart, Internet casino stations require less investment because of their low overhead as well as operating and marketing costs.

Also, Internet casino offers gaming enthusiasts the opportunity to play casino games in the privacy and comfort of their homes at any time of the day and at their own pace.

As an additional feature, a prepaid card system will be incorporated in Pagcor’s Internet casino betting platform to avoid credit card fraud and fasttrack its nationwide distribution.

Philweb started as an Internet service provider (ISP) four years ago. In 2003, it exited from the ISP business and focused on Internet gaming.

To allow it to focus on Internet sports betting and Internet gaming, which are now its core businesses, Philweb has agreed to integrate its Internet service provider (ISP) products and services with those offered by Singapore-registered Edsamail Holdings Pte. Ltd.