Åland-based operator Paf has made a move into the regulated Italian online gaming market with the acquisition of Winga.it from Italian mobile content provider Buongiorno. Founded in 2010, Winga offers players online casino, poker and bingo products via Winga.it, as well through television channel Winga TV.
Headquartered in Milan, the Playtech-powered operator currently has 27 employees and generated approximately €10m in revenue during 2014. It will now operate as a subsidiary of the Paf Group, continuing to provide its activities to players under its existing brand and website. Paf did not disclose the purchase price.
“The acquisition of Winga is part of our strategy of continued internationalisation and expansion,” said Paf CEO Anders Ingves. “We see great potential in Winga’s well-established operational base in combination with Paf’s international industry experience and broad range of products.
“As a first step, we will expand Winga’s product range to include additional casino games and betting in the next few years.”
Winga has broadcast daily games programmes on Winga TV since 2011 with a focus on casino games. The company said that the channel’s output is strongly linked to the gaming offers on Winga.it, and is available through Italian digital terrestrial television network and via online streaming.
“It’s exciting and challenging to lead Winga into a new era,” said Winga CEO Assen Diakovski. “Our market niche within casino TV in combination with Paf’s international gaming expertise makes me confident that together we can grow the business in Italy over the next few years.”
Last year, Winga shut down its Spanish-facing online poker operation after requesting its licence be terminated, while in 2012 it withdrew from the French online gaming market.
source : www.gamingintelligence.com
