EiG announces Start-Up finalists for its 5th Annual LaunchPad session

LONDON and BARCELONA -- (PRESS RELEASE) -- EiG, the European I-Gaming Congress & Expo (EIG), taking place on October 16-18, 2012, at the Fira de Barcelona, Spain, announced today the selection of the five finalists that will exhibit in the EiG Start-Up Zone and pitch in the highly competitive Fifth Annual Start-Up LaunchPad.

Ewa Bakun, Head of Content, Gaming for Clarion Events, commented, “For the last four years, the EiG LaunchPad has been a platform for innovative start-ups to pitch their ideas to a panel of experts, investors and to a room full of the EiG high-level attendees. This year the stakes are even higher with the evolutionary forces of the marketplace driving innovation and turning business models upside down.”

The list of start-ups selected for the 2012 LaunchPad are:

LocusPlay: Hi-Tech lottery platform that can be quickly rolled out in developing regions with lesser bandwidth availability. Supports wide range of lottery games with diverse regional flavors - could this be an innovative solution that lotteries worldwide are looking for?

Colossus Bets: Bringing unprecedented high-prize pools to sports betting through the world's biggest guarantees; this innovative product is augmenting the existing way pools are being played by allowing multi-leg cash-in, as each leg progresses. Can they bring real drama to betting?

Goplay: An open-source iGaming platform that enables casino operators to embed free-to-play social games into their websites and reward users with incentives redeemable at land-based casinos. Does it offer a winning solution to integrate ‘social’ into the existing bricks-and-mortar business?

Living Sports Limited: Combine sports with casino by generating real time odds on outcomes, putting them into casino style user interfaces and providing a second-screen experience. Will the founders’ non-gaming, aerospace background help them succeed in sportsbetting?

Sofun Gaming: French start-up with an ARJEL license, operating Betkup, a social sports betting site that offers unique prediction challenges called Kups on which jackpots are formed. Founder defines it as "the poker of sports betting"; could this innovative approach be a solution to a challenging French market?

Their products, revenue models and potential will be scrutinized and judged during the 5th EiG Start-Up LaunchPad on Wednesday, 17 October, at 15:00 – 17:00 by an esteemed panel of judges that includes:
Edward Pfeiffenberger, Managing Director, Venatus Interactive
Phil Cronin, CEO, Tombola
Mark Blandford, Chairman, Valhalla Investments and Founder, Sportingbet
Uri Levy, VP Business Development, Playtech
Evan Hoff, Partner, Velo Partners
Moderator: Melissa Blau, Director, iGaming Capital

After hearing the judges’ commentary, it will be up to the EiG audience to choose the winner using EiG voting technology SpotId.

Companies such as FSB Tech Solutions, USM Gaming, Passoker and TopHat Apps won in the last four years, gaining industry exposure and launching their companies at EiG.

The LaunchPad has become an important and respected cornerstone in the iGaming sector for companies in their early stages looking to raise capital. Three of the four EiG winners have either raised the capital they were seeking or partnered with industry giants shortly after winning. This was not just true for the winners; Crowd Park who was a runner-up at EIG 2011 also raised capital on the back of the LaunchPad.

The LaunchPad has also proven a valuable place for investors to spot new trends and investment targets, as commented by Mark Blanford, an industry pioneer, founder of Sportingbet, investor in the gaming sector and a longtime LaunchPad judge: “Several of my investments came about as a result of connections made at EIG. The start-up LaunchPad is the best industry opportunity for me to spot new trends and interesting companies”.

The 11th European I-Gaming Congress & Expo (EiG) is taking place in Barcelona on 16-18 October 2012. More information about the event and registration can be found at www.eigexpo.com.