Gala Coral gets in bed with Playtech

UK-based gambling goliath Gala Coral and gambling software giant Playtech have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) that will facilitate the migration of some of Gala Coral online gambling brands on to Playtech software.

The MoU is not legally binding but creates an understanding on which both parties can cement their future relationship.

The news comes only days after Playtech reached an out of court agreement with its current joint venture partner William Hill after the latter filed for a court injunction back in February to stop Playtech from entering discussions with any of its rivals.

Back in February it was rumored that Playtech entered into discussions with Ladbrokes; William Hill's arch rival, in a move that could have jeopardized William Hill's future business interests.

The two companies were due to meet in court this week to settle the dispute but have managed to redraft their joint venture agreement and avoid costly and lengthy court proceedings.

Under the amended joint venture agreement Playtech is allowed to seek partnership with other UK online gaming operators but is prohibited from doing so with land-based operators.

Following last week's agreement there was an expectation of some sort of an announcement tying Playtech to Ladbrokes, but everybody's surprise the news of a new business relationship is about William hill's other big UK competitive Gala Coral.

Gala Coral is in the process of restructuring its business after years of struggling in a very competitive business environment and is planning in the future to sell some of its brands but is currently waiting for better market conditions in order to obtain a better price.

The company owns many casino, bingo and bookmakers throughout the UK and has stable online traffic on its online bingo brands but its online sportsbook is a failing business and it is expected that Playtech will be able to help them in this department as well.

Regardless Gala needs to find new streams of revenue as even after complicated and extensive refinancing it still has a £2 billion debt to settle.