PR: 32Red acquires Go Wild Casino's UK customers

[The Dude]

This just in:

32Red Plc
(“32Red” or "the Company")

Acquisition

32Red Plc, the award-winning online gaming operator, is pleased to announce today that it has acquired the UK customer database of the Go Wild casino from Go Wild Malta Ltd. Go Wild’s UK customers will be migrated to the 32Red platform on or before 15 September 2014.

Matt Booth, Commercial Director, 32Red Plc, commented:

“This acquisition fits well with our growth strategy for the UK market. The migration of players from Go Wild to 32Red is a low-risk and seamless transfer as both businesses utilise the Microgaming platform and games content. Players will continue to use the same login and passwords to access their accounts and we will be active in showcasing the 32Red experience to these newly acquired players.”

9 September 2014
Enquiries:

32Red Plc Tel: 00 350 200 49396
Ed Ware, CEO
Jon Hale, Finance Director

Numis Securities Limited Tel: +44 (0) 20 7260 1000
Chris Wilkinson (Corporate Broking)
Michael Meade (Nominated Adviser)

Instinctif Partners Tel: + 44 (0) 20 7457 2020
Mark Reed
Antonia Pollock

That's excellent news. Go Wild was accredited here for a couple of months until they stepped on their cranks. Good to see that they will be coming under 32Red's wing.

https://sussexmskpartnershipeast.com/grey-zone-casinos/

 

[paul7388]

Thanks. How does this work with duplicate accounts tho as im sure most gowild players also have 32red accounts.

 

[incrediblestuff]

amazing!

Didn't see that one coming..

I have an account at GoWild and was just recently slowly getting active with it again.. I am maybe hoping for too much but it sure would be fun to see some of the fun promo's Go Wild used to throw, combined with 32red's payout ease and support!

 

[incrediblestuff]

Thanks. How does this work with duplicate accounts tho as im sure most gowild players also have 32red accounts.

I wouldn't worry about that as 32Red Plc has no issues with players having accounts at all their sister Casinos. This will be the same. Just a new sister.

 

[PCJACKPOT2008]

I closed my account at Go Wild due to slow payouts and bad experiences with CS. I guess one of those things will change.

 

[rainmaker]

.

According to the press release, it looks like they have only acquired Go Wild's UK based customers and not the brand itself?

 

[Tirilej]

Wow
I didn't like Go Wild because of their annoying support who refused to leave me alone...and all the idiotic emails I got all the time..

I guess I have to change my mind then.

..or not, after reading Rainmakers post.

 

[mattsgame]

.

According to the press release, it looks like they have only acquired Go Wild's UK based customers and not the brand itself?

From what I have read you are correct, 32Red has pretty much just purchased GoWild's U.K players and not the outfit itself. Not really sure how I feel about this personally and will this be the last database of players we see sold off.

Been trying to find out what happens to those players on the affiliate side of things but so far found out nothing.

 

[incrediblestuff]

Guess i jumped the gun! darned, it won't affect me at all

 

[Mark_32Red (retired acct)]

Been trying to find out what happens to those players on the affiliate side of things but so far found out nothing.

Hey Mattsgame,

Players who are tagged to affiliates will be remapped to your 32Red affiliate account and we will continue to pay commission moving forward. If GW affiliates do not have a 32Red affiliate account, they will need to open an account so we can continue to pay them. I understand this will be communicated by GW this afternoon.

Regards,
Mark

 

[KasinoKing]

Are we allowed to say "&$^£( ^$^$ $)(&$ %(*)($^!!!"

Would have been nice if someone had thought to inform their affiliates and not just let us find out like this

Not sure if this is good or bad news right now - I guess time will tell...
(These are the 2 most popular MG casinos on my website)

KK

 

[Mark_32Red (retired acct)]

Are we allowed to say "&$^£( ^$^$ $)(&$ %(*)($^!!!"

Would have been nice if someone had thought to inform their affiliates and not just let us find out like this

Not sure if this is good or bad news right now - I guess time will tell...
(These are the 2 most popular MG casinos on my website)

KK

Hey KK,

Sorry you had to find out this way, as a PLC we needed to make an announcement to shareholders before the news could be in the public domain. GW will be communicating to affiliates later this afternoon I understand.

Please feel free to contact me directly with any questions.

Regards,
Mark

 

[Azzurri]

I heard a rumor the customers were purchased for $25,000 just recently.

Just jokes, lol.

Doesn't affect me in the slightest, but good to know.

 

[randomiam]

i wonder if 32red will up the promos

The only thing i remember about go wild was there great promos like deposit 100 and get 20 free spins worth a total of $2
mabye 32 red will fix that

 

[The Viking]

The only thing i remember about go wild was there great promos like deposit 100 and get 20 free spins worth a total of $2
mabye 32 red will fix that

used to be my all time fav casino few years back, when they had decent promos, but lately they have not been worth the time
also have to contact live chat every time you claim one it really puts me off, will be back now though i reckon

 

[PaaskeDenmark]

used to be my all time fav casino few years back, when they had decent promos, but lately they have not been worth the time
also have to contact live chat every time you claim one it really puts me off, will be back now though i reckon

Guys you are both wrong there. They had actually improved their promotion A LOT this year. Also claiming bonues , Free spins etc had been done automatic as you had promotions now in Cashier... So much easier and nice. No need to go on livechat to claim.

Also Bonuses lot better like getting 50-75-100 free spins on newer slots (and yes talking £0,30 a spin all lines) on just deposit of minimum £20 some did require £50. Also other great offers were coming.

I AM SO P%$^" OFF TO SAY THE LEAST ABOUT THIS!!!!!! both as affiliate but also as player had big plans with them for new uk site. And also very happy again as player there.

So now I am stuck with a 100% rarely deposit bonus at 32red and 2 accounts(which means 1 account now)??

Not happy as at Gowild I actually more frequent and better offers than from 32Red yes even Freebies.

 

[dusky]

Are you able to just "buy" customer's details? Is this not a violation of the Data Protection Act?

 

[PaaskeDenmark]

Are we allowed to say "&$^£( ^$^$ $)(&$ %(*)($^!!!"

Would have been nice if someone had thought to inform their affiliates and not just let us find out like this

Not sure if this is good or bad news right now - I guess time will tell...
(These are the 2 most popular MG casinos on my website)

KK

I will quote you KK - I had already enquired gowild though last month and they did not know yet for sure about UK. I am very upset about this as I feel they had really improved this year as from my post above....

 

[PaaskeDenmark]

Are you able to just "buy" customer's details? Is this not a violation of the Data Protection Act?

I feel this is just all wrong of 32RED..... but guess this is just my opinion!!

 

[vinylweatherman]

Hey KK,

Sorry you had to find out this way, as a PLC we needed to make an announcement to shareholders before the news could be in the public domain. GW will be communicating to affiliates later this afternoon I understand.

Please feel free to contact me directly with any questions.

Regards,
Mark

It's GoWild that put the UK players up for sale, so it is they who should have informed their affiliates as it's GoWild affiliates that have work to do.

The problem with leaving things so late is that it can mean affiliates just don't have the time to make the changes before the changes are made, leaving them with broken links to GoWild that will cause them lost income, plus make their sites appear "sloppy" to users.

The main effect will be felt by affiliates who target the UK specifically. Unfortunately, if anything does go wrong, like failed tracking, it's 32Red who will be held to account by affiliates.

As for players, they need to know what will happen to their balances and comp points at GoWild, in particular, do they have to take any action prior to the deadline.

The data protection issue may well be raised by some, and although it was GoWild that sold it, as far as the law is concerned the buyer can also be held to account by buying data that by law shouldn't have been offered to them.

I have a long dormant account at Go Wild, so it will be interesting to see how this all works out.

 

[jetset]

.

According to the press release, it looks like they have only acquired Go Wild's UK based customers and not the brand itself?

The PR is not that clear, but I agree with Rainmaker here - this looks like another arrangement in the run-up to the new UK point-of-consumption licensing regime, with Go Wild possibly deciding against taking up UK secondary licensing - hopefully this upcoming statement from Go Wild will give us more clarity all round.

 

[mattsgame]

The PR is not that clear, but I agree with Rainmaker here - this looks like another arrangement in the run-up to the new UK point-of-consumption licensing regime, with Go Wild possibly deciding against taking up UK secondary licensing - hopefully this upcoming statement from Go Wild will give us more clarity all round.

Here you go :

Dear affiliate,


We have been servicing players from the UK for over 5 years and have enjoyed being part of a vibrant and competitive market. Further to announcements detailing the proposed new licensing, regulatory and taxation regimes in the UK, we undertook a thorough review of our UK business going forward. Further to that review we have decided to focus on our successful international operations and have withdrawn from the UK market. We were happy to have reached an agreement with 32Red Plc who then purchased our UK database.

As our valued business partner, we’d like to inform you that these imminent changes would come into effect starting the 10th September 2014. To ensure your continued revenue generation, only UK accounts will be migrated to 32Red.com. The migration commences on the 10th September to be completed by the 15th of September and will include all and only UK account holders.

To ensure your revenue share commission, we have agreed that UK players affiliated with your account would be migrated to your existing 32Red.com affiliate account. If you don’t have an account with 32red affiliate program, please register one at Outdated URL (Invalid) at the earliest convenience. We have agreed that your commission structure will remain on the same level unless you have an existing commission agreement with 32red.

Rest assured that all revenue generated before the migration date will remain under your GoWild account earnings to guarantee you will not lose out on commission. For any customers located outside of these territories we are continuing to operate as normal and as such you will continue to receive payments in respect of their activity.

As always we are here to assist you with any query or help you may require, please feel free to contact us at any time. Furthermore, for your convenience we have also setup a dedicated migration team at 32red that will handle this process on their side and is available at: [email protected]

Sincerely Yours,
GoWild Affiliates Team.

They only purchased the U.K players and we all get 1 Days notice, I really would have expected more from these 2 companies.

 

[SlotMonster]

ooops, the same as mattsgame's

 

[vinylweatherman]

The PR is not that clear, but I agree with Rainmaker here - this looks like another arrangement in the run-up to the new UK point-of-consumption licensing regime, with Go Wild possibly deciding against taking up UK secondary licensing - hopefully this upcoming statement from Go Wild will give us more clarity all round.

Recent announcements seem to be targeted at making the move as close to Sept 16th as possible, the cut off date for applicants to be granted continuation licences. I mentioned in another thread that for those casinos who have yet to tell players they are pulling out, but that we know are (Fortune lounge brands for example), they will cut players off by the 16th rather than hang on to the bitter end on the 30th. My reasoning is that before the 16th, they still have time to put in a late application, and so are not doing anything wrong by "continuing" to serve UK players. However, if they haven't applied by then, it's clear that they will have to cease serving UK players for a period even if they do apply after this date. This leads them into a "grey area", especially if they have no intention of applying, so to stay in the clear legally, yet serve UK players for as long as possible, the 16th is a key date.

After all, they may want to change their minds later on after the dust has settled, and will not want any of their past behaviour to derail their chances of being approved.

 

[chuchu59]

Not good news for me though. I could play at GoWild before. However, since I am unable to play at the 32RED Group, it means 1 less MG for me.

 

[Richas]

Recent announcements seem to be targeted at making the move as close to Sept 16th as possible, the cut off date for applicants to be granted continuation licences. I mentioned in another thread that for those casinos who have yet to tell players they are pulling out, but that we know are (Fortune lounge brands for example), they will cut players off by the 16th rather than hang on to the bitter end on the 30th. My reasoning is that before the 16th, they still have time to put in a late application, and so are not doing anything wrong by "continuing" to serve UK players. However, if they haven't applied by then, it's clear that they will have to cease serving UK players for a period even if they do apply after this date. This leads them into a "grey area", especially if they have no intention of applying, so to stay in the clear legally, yet serve UK players for as long as possible, the 16th is a key date.

After all, they may want to change their minds later on after the dust has settled, and will not want any of their past behaviour to derail their chances of being approved.

This "hard" 16th deadline seems to be showing up for Micrgaming sites. This is a bit speculative but we know that Microgaming is also applying for a licence with its remaining UK sites and that in their application they need to detail their whole operation including which partners are UK facing and which not. This hard deadline for the partners is likely a Microgaming requirement. Speculative but there is some logic to it.

 

[maphesto]

Not good news for me though. I could play at GoWild before. However, since I am unable to play at the 32RED Group, it means 1 less MG for me.

Are you a player from UK?

32RED only bought the players from UK.

 

[mattsgame]

Not good news for me though. I could play at GoWild before. However, since I am unable to play at the 32RED Group, it means 1 less MG for me.

You can still play at Go Wild Chu, its only the U.K players

Edit: Beaten to it

 

[PaaskeDenmark]

Are you a player from UK?

32RED only bought the players from UK.

I think he means that GoWild allowed his country. But 32REd don't. So he loses 1 account and new one is not possible as excluded at 32Red.

Really great for them then. How about if all the uk players at gowild also have 32red account? or most of them seems non logical this agreement.....

 

[PaaskeDenmark]

You can still play at Go Wild Chu, its only the U.K players

Edit: Beaten to it

Arghhh haha I got all confused please ignore my post above LOL

 

[mattsgame]

Hey Mattsgame,

Players who are tagged to affiliates will be remapped to your 32Red affiliate account and we will continue to pay commission moving forward. If GW affiliates do not have a 32Red affiliate account, they will need to open an account so we can continue to pay them. I understand this will be communicated by GW this afternoon.

Regards,
Mark

Mark,

What happens if those players already have an account at 32Red and are tagged under a different affiliate?

Cheers Matt

 

[Richas]

You can still play at Go Wild Chu, its only the U.K players

Edit: Beaten to it

Yep, 32Red was not serving your "somewhere in Asia" grey/black market and GoWild was/still is. It seems that at least some sites are polarising between white market UK facing and grey market non UK facing - as I predicted would happen.

 

[PaaskeDenmark]

Are we allowed to say "&$^£( ^$^$ $)(&$ %(*)($^!!!"

Would have been nice if someone had thought to inform their affiliates and not just let us find out like this

Not sure if this is good or bad news right now - I guess time will tell...
(These are the 2 most popular MG casinos on my website)

KK

I assume you received this email by now KK as just got this.

Dear affiliate,


We have been servicing players from the UK for over 5 years and have enjoyed being part of a vibrant and competitive market. Further to announcements detailing the proposed new licensing, regulatory and taxation regimes in the UK, we undertook a thorough review of our UK business going forward. Further to that review we have decided to focus on our successful international operations and have withdrawn from the UK market. We were happy to have reached an agreement with 32Red Plc who then purchased our UK database.

As our valued business partner, we’d like to inform you that these imminent changes would come into effect starting the 10th September 2014. To ensure your continued revenue generation, only UK accounts will be migrated to 32Red.com. The migration commences on the 10th September to be completed by the 15th of September and will include all and only UK account holders.

To ensure your revenue share commission, we have agreed that UK players affiliated with your account would be migrated to your existing 32Red.com affiliate account. If you don’t have an account with 32red affiliate program, please register one at Outdated URL (Invalid) at the earliest convenience. We have agreed that your commission structure will remain on the same level unless you have an existing commission agreement with 32red.

Rest assured that all revenue generated before the migration date will remain under your GoWild account earnings to guarantee you will not lose out on commission. For any customers located outside of these territories we are continuing to operate as normal and as such you will continue to receive payments in respect of their activity.

As always we are here to assist you with any query or help you may require, please feel free to contact us at any time. Furthermore, for your convenience we have also setup a dedicated migration team at 32red that will handle this process on their side and is available at:
[email protected]

Sincerely Yours,
GoWild Affiliates Team.

 

[Mark_32Red (retired acct)]

Mark,

What happens if those players already have an account at 32Red and are tagged under a different affiliate?

Cheers Matt

Hi Matt,

Initially we will welcome the GW customers with our standard welcome offer and they will be be able to play with both accounts, however moving forward this will not be an option if we see bonus abuse. We will write to players who are claiming bonuses on two accounts and ask them to make the choice between the two. Having been given estimates in terms of crossover between GW and 32, I don't think this will be too much of an issue.

I hope this helps.

Regards,
Mark

 

[KasinoKing]

Hi Matt,

Initially we will welcome the GW customers with our standard welcome offer and they will be be able to play with both accounts, however moving forward this will not be an option if we see bonus abuse. We will write to players who are claiming bonuses on two accounts and ask them to make the choice between the two. Having been given estimates in terms of crossover between GW and 32, I don't think this will be too much of an issue.

I hope this helps.

Regards,
Mark

You didn't answer his question at all!
He was asking about affiliates, not players.
Read again maybe?

The question is: If Player A signed-up to 32Red under one affiliate AND to Go Wild under a different affiliate - which affiliate will get tagged to the player after the merger?

KK

 

[paul7388]

Here is a copy of the email from gowild about all this.

Hello Paul,

As our valued player, we’d like to inform you about imminent changes
that are about to occur at GoWild Casino. We have taken the decision
not to apply for a continuation license which will allow us to transact
with UK players, this change comes into effect on the 10th September 2014.

To ensure your continued gaming pleasure, your GoWild Casino account will
be migrated to the equally entertaining 32Red.com where you can log in
with your existing username and password.

We will, of course, ensure that the transition is smooth and seamless.
You will be migrated on your existing platform of play and if you have
a cash balance, bonus balance and loyalty points; these will be
transferred to 32Red.com along with your account.

We’d like to thank you for playing with GoWild and wish you the very
best of luck at 32Red.com

If you have any questions, kindly contact 32Red.com:

Email - [email protected]

Live chat -

You do not have permission to view link Log in or register now.

Phone - 0808 180 3232

Sincerely Yours,
GoWild Casino

 

[Mark_32Red (retired acct)]

You didn't answer his question at all!
He was asking about affiliates, not players.
Read again maybe?

The question is: If Player A signed-up to 32Red under one affiliate AND to Go Wild under a different affiliate - which affiliate will get tagged to the player after the merger?

KK

Hi KK,

Sorry I wasn't clear. The answer is similar. Both accounts will be tagged to their respective affiliate. We don't allow duplicate accounts however so any players abusing bonuses on both of their accounts will be asked to choose which account to remain open.

As I said above, having been given estimates in terms of crossover between GW and 32, I don't think this will be too much of an issue.

Regards,
Mark

 

[Nicola]

Investors in 32Red PLC not happy (reading on stock market forums) and the share price has dropped today.

 

[Richas]

Investors in 32Red PLC not happy (reading on stock market forums) and the share price has dropped today.

Do you have a forum link for the shareholder comments? Thanks

 

[dunover]

Investors in 32Red PLC not happy (reading on stock market forums) and the share price has dropped today.

Why? Did you have another 4-reel Wild Desire at £3 a spin?

 

[chayton]

EDIT: Sorry I didn't finish reading the thread before posting, everyone already said this. Sorry 'bout that.

 

[The Dude]

Admin Note: Title Change

Added the thing about UK players to avoid confusion (thanks Rainmaker).

 

[dunover]

Sorry thread updated before I typed..

 

[dusky]

Sorry to repeat myself but again isn't this a violation of the data protection act?

My information at GoWild isn't a commodity that can be bought, if anyone is buying it I want the money!

 

[P.V.]

if anyone is buying it I want the money!

Whenever you signed up at company A you agreed to the T&C's. When any company A sells to company B everything is transferred and they are in control now.

Businesses by businesses everyday to gain new customers and take over the extending business for one reason or another.

No money for you that's absurd, delete your account if you don't like buyouts.

Example; If Google purchased Yahoo do you really think they'd owe you money? Nope G would be in control of what they purchased, period.

 

[Richas]

Whenever you signed up at company A you agreed to the T&C's. When any company A sells to company B everything is transferred and they are in control now.

Businesses by businesses everyday to gain new customers and take over the extending business for one reason or another.

No money for you that's absurd, delete your account if you don't like buyouts.

Example; If Google purchased Yahoo do you really think they'd owe you money? Nope G would be in control of what they purchased, period.

If there were a company takeover or sale then I would agree but that has not happened here. it is explicitly the sale of the UK player database. I am sure that they have taken legal advice and seem OK with it but it is not clear that this is legal, it seems likely that they should have asked permission from the UK players for transferring the data. See this link:

You do not have permission to view link Log in or register now.

Is it ever acceptable to disclose personal data to other organisations for them to use for their own purposes?

It depends. You may be approached by a third party seeking personal data about one of your employees or customers. For example, the police may want information in connection with an investigation, or an individual may want information to pursue legal action. In such cases, you may choose to disclose the information if the conditions of a relevant exemption are satisfied.

Unless one of these specific exemptions applies, individuals should generally be able to choose whether or not their personal data is disclosed to another organisation. If your intention to disclose information in this way was not made absolutely clear at the outset, at a time when the individual had the option not to proceed in their business relationship with you, then you will usually have to get the individual’s consent before making such disclosures.

A decision to share personal data with another organisation does not take away your duty to treat individuals fairly. So before sharing personal data, you should consider carefully what the recipient will do with it, and what the effect on individuals is likely to be. It is good practice to obtain an assurance about this, for example in the form of a written contract.

 

[P.V.]

Well I stand corrected until I have time to read the entire thread. I thought they bought them out and took over the casino and customer base.

Sure data sales happen all the time but it's unethical IMO to sell player information, or personal info. in general with details to a third party for personal gain.

I should have waited before posting as I thought this was a casino buyout, my bad.

 

[P.V.]

OK I've glanced over this and it's cut and dry. GW is out of the UK market therefore they sold their customer base to 32.

Is that legal, not sure and not for me to post about but I do know 32 R is a respectable company handling any data. JMO

 

[vinylweatherman]

The legality will only be tested if one of the players who's data is sold makes a complaint to the ICO, and the ruling goes in their favour. If this does happen, it will produce guidance for the industry in how to conduct such sales in a regulated environment within the EU.

It's the requirement for "explicit permission" that might cause problems. The ICO is aware of the sneaky tricks used by many companies to gain "implicit permission", such as pre filled tick boxes, or confusing wording that makes people unsure whether it's ticking the box or not ticking the box that leads to them giving permission.

To stay within the rules, GoWild would just have to offer players the opportunity to opt out of the sale and have their accounts closed instead. Some casinos have done this when transferring data to other operators.

The problem here is that so little notice has been given. On the 8th, UK players were invited to a promotion on their GoWild account. On the 9th, the email was sent out, and today the deal is done. The email didn't even offer players the chance to opt out, let alone give them time to do so.

There may well be players who try to log on today unaware of what has happened, and getting worried that their money is gone.

These emails are also finding their way into spam. My GoWild one got through, but the Ruby Fortune one was flagged as spam, and I found it yesterday in the spam folder.

 

[dusky]

I was only making a joke of it P.V. really. I'm not too fussed, I don't even think I have a GoWild account but we see complaints about the selling of personal data to third parties most days of the week in the non casino World so I don't see how they can just buy a database of customers details.

Hopefully 32Red can give us more information anyway seeing as they've been active on this thread.