Right after online casino software developer Playtech announced the acquisition of the software company Ash Gaming, it also revealed that it indents to form more partnerships with other online gambling ventures during 2012.

In the press release Playtech revealed that it signed a collaboration agreement with the German land-based casino venture Gauselmann who is the owner of the famous Merkur gaming brand. The joint venture created will offer online sports betting and gambling services on the German market as soon as the issue of German online gambling legalization settles.

South Africa is one of the countries that currently consider legalizing online gambling. Due to this, Playtech created a joint venture with the South African land-based gambling brand Peermont. The South African company is one of the biggest online gambling brands in the country and is reported to generate around €260 million revenue annually.

According to the deal, the new joint venture will provide online sports betting services to South African players as soon as the government legalizes this practice. Later on it's expected that the company will also offer other online gambling games as well. Playtech will be sole provider of online gambling software and player management systems to the South African venture.

Besides the joint ventures above, Playtech also announced the acquisition of a United Kingdom based online sports betting software developer named Geneity. It's has been revealed that Playtech paid an initial sum of £11 million to Geneity, with further £4 million being paid during the upcoming years.

Despite the fact that Geneity is a relatively new and low profile company, it still has a big client base including many prolific brands such as Gala Coral, Betfair and Ladbrokes. Playtech revealed that Geneity's sports betting product will help in the complete overhaul of Playtech's betting product.

The highlight of the press release on the other hand was the company's performance report of 2011 that was released as well. According to the report, Playtech's gross income increased with a huge 41% during 2011 to €243.6 million.

Playtech CEO Mor Weizer commented the following:

"Growth from our existing business has created a solid platform for 2012. Taken together with today's other announcements, I believe Playtech is well positioned to take advantage of market opportunities wherever as and when they appear."

Playtech is one of the biggest and most successful online casino game developers on the market. Its software is used by a great number of high-profile online casinos such as William Hill Casino and EuroGrand.

Tags: Playtech, European Online Gambling Legislation, Germany, South Africa, Online Gambling Software, Casino Software