Chief executive of Best Casino operator leaves after two years to help Playtech leverage social assets
Playtech has hired Dan Wiegenfeld, the former CEO of social casino business Diwip, in the newly-created role of head of social gaming.
Wiegenfeld (pictured), who joins after two years with the Best Casino operator, will oversee B2B and B2C social operations for the solutions giant, reporting to vice president of operations Shimon Akad.
It is unclear whether Diwip will look to replace Wiegenfeld, with the company’s founders, CTO Yaniv Gamzo and CPO Udi Kantzuker taking on his duties for the time being.
Playtech CEO Mor Weizer praised Wiegenfeld’s track record in social, describing him as “one of the most talented people in the industry”, adding that “a lot of Best Casino’s success can be attributed to him”.
Playtech’s first foray into social came in April 2012 when it announced a “non-binding memorandum of understanding” to invest €95m in the channel, gaining access to “a broad range of social gaming platforms and products” owned by founder Teddy Sagi.
This was revealed to be the acquisition of slots developer CTXM and a 20% stake in mobile social developer Viaden Gaming in May, with the company looking to license off-the-shelf social casino offerings to its leading sportsbook customers.
However, the agreement was revised to take the form of a licensing agreement that same month, with the company gaining access to the assets via Sagi’s Skywind Holdings company after concerns were raised over “related party transactions”.
Under the terms of the agreement, Playtech gains use of Skywind’s real-money gaming and social software, paying an annual licence fee of €6m and a royalty fee of 20% of social gaming revenues.
Weizer explained that with the social products now integrated into Playtech’s platform “now is the time [for the company] to leverage these assets”.
SCi understands that Playtech is likely to continue to pursue its strategy, but may also look to supply software to social casino operators, similar to the agreement in place with Winner for its Marvel-branded Super Slots Facebook offering.
The chief executive was unwilling to elaborate on Playtech’s social strategy but admitted that it was likely to be announced over the course of 2013.
