Tag: Industry News

The West Asian Football Federation (WAFF) has entered into a partnership with Sportradar to undertake a series of educational workshops to uphold and protect the integrity of regional competitions.

Sportradar Integrity Services’ Education & Prevention team will provide engaging educational material to help educate all the key stakeholders in WAFF competitions on key topics surrounding international sports betting, match-fixing and social media integrity.

“The West Asian Football Federation is committed to fighting match-fixing, and under this agreement we are demonstrating the importance we place on protecting the game in West Asia. We are excited to collaborate and work together with Sportradar to educate, spread awareness and protect the integrity of West Asian football,” Khalil Al Salem, General-secretary of WAFF, said.

“We are honoured to be starting this relationship with the WAFF, who are taking crucial proactive measures in the fight to prevent integrity issues. We hope this relationship will be a fruitful one where we can collaboratively work together to safeguard the integrity of football in the region and help the WAFF become a model for other federations in Asia and around the globe,” Andreas Krannich, Managing Director Integrity Services, Sportradar, said.

Dubai Government has issued a statement denying social media reports that the emirate has started issuing licences for gambling activities.

The Government of Dubai Media Office said reports circulating on social media about the gambling licences are “incorrect,” without giving any further details.

Gambling is not permissible in the UAE although the government allows some organisations to run competitions and raffles, as long as they have express permission from the relevant regulatory bodies.

Unlike other countries in the Middle East, the UAE also has separate laws that relate to online gambling. Its Cyber Crimes Law sets out penalties for anyone caught operating an online gambling business. Internet service providers are required by law to block websites that provide illegal content, and that includes gambling-related content.

Kaizen Gaming has partnered with digital payments provider OKTO to provide players of the Stoiximan and Betano brands with a physical-to-digital payment method.

Stoiximan.Cash and Betano.Cash is set to modernise the player’s payment experience in a faster, easier, safer and more compliant way. The totally immersed mobile on-premise payment solution enables players to top up their online gaming account instantly through any physical point-of-sale, while never leaving the Stoiximan and Betano mobile apps.

Kaizen Gaming aligned with its vision to differentiate through an exceptional customer experience in every touchpoint with the player and drive customer loyalty, enhance its members’ payment journey with an entirely seamless and frictionless topping up process with funds accessible in real-time, offering both convenience and security.

OKTO supports Kaizen Gaming via its proprietary payment technology and its country-by-country national retail networks, which will be reaching over 110,000 points-of-sale across six markets where Kaizen Gaming operates. Alongside, the fintech provider ensures the per-country collaboration with the necessary payment and electronic money institutions, always working towards fully compliant solutions.

The solution is now available in Greece and Cyprus under the Stoiximan brand, committed to bringing every Stoiximan player just a few steps away from experiencing the new mantra “Play with Stoiximan, Pay with Stoiximan.Cash” as well as in Romania under the Betano brand. The immediate next steps foresee the expansion of the solution across Europe, in the markets that Kaizen Gaming operates under the international brand Betano.

Kostas Georgoulas, Director of Strategic Accounts of OKTO, said: “Our partnership with Kaizen Gaming is in line with our mission to digitise the physical payment experience and provide consumers with the capabilities to transact across multiple channels seamlessly and securely while operating under the umbrella of one of the most recognisable brands in Europe. That kind of flexibility speaks to the player, making the payment process frictionless and creating a consistent experience.

At the core of our offering is a safe, secure and reliable electronic payments platform. Whether it’s mobile, online, or in-shop gaming, we aim to make payments effortless, faster, simple, and safe.”

Litsa Katsika, Customer Account & Payments Product Manager of Kaizen Gaming, said: “Our goal is to continually improve our products and services to offer the best experience to those who trust us for their entertainment.

Our cooperation with OKTO is based on our common belief that a digitized, seamless and secure payment experience forms an integral part of our members’ overall experience. In OKTO, we deem the reliable fintech partner and the wide network of point-of-sales nationwide and internationally to be necessary. Both should contribute to rapidly and effectively offering the ultimate payment solution that suits not only the demands of the next-gen player or mobile-first player but also the demands made by those that wish to enjoy the benefits of cash-based transactions.”

Fast Track has signed a deal to provide its customer relationship management (CRM) solution to the new online casino brand of the DoubleUp Group.

DoubleUp Group strives to simplify the user experience. Using their expertise in tech, the team is always on the lookout for ways to improve the player experience. This creates seamless experiences, allowing players to “dive straight into the fun.” Their intuitive new online casino brand is set to launch this May.

Fast Track will support DoubleUp Group’s new launch with their real-time player engagement platform, allowing the team to implement automation across CRM activities and efficiently scale this as the brand grows. This includes the use of Fast Track’s in-house solution for on-site notifications to create “in the moment” engagements and experiences for their players.

“We chose Fast Track because they offer a flexible solution that can power the dynamic engagements that are vital to creating a memorable player experience. We want our team to harness the full extent of their creativity and not be limited by the capabilities of default tools. Fast Track will give them this freedom, allowing them to maximise player engagement,” Ale Rollo, Managing Director of DoubleUp Group, said.

“We share a lot of the same values as DoubleUp; we are constantly looking at how products and processes can be improved, and don’t settle for the status quo. We know they have ambitious plans for their brand and we are ready to support them in making it a success,” Christopher Hirst, Co-founder of Fast Track, said.

In light of the continued uncertainty regarding international travel and the viability of in-person events due to the ongoing pandemic, the Board of the European Casino Association (ECA) has announced the cancellation of this year’s European Dealer Championship (Monte-Carlo, October 4-8) and ECA Industry Forum (Vienna, November 31-December 3), with both events postponed until 2022.

While no fixed dates can be supplied at this time, the ECA assures members that the European Dealer Championship will return in April/May 2022, followed by the ECA Industry Forum in September/October 2022.

“Health and safety have always been our top priority and the continued uncertainty created by the pandemic makes the postponement of our in-person events the prudent decision. We needed to put down our foot and make this decision now considering the scale of these events and the efforts that are going into organizing and executing them. While we regret the cancellations this year, we look forward to the prospect of EU-wide vaccination programmes lifting current travel restrictions to enable us to reunite with our members in 2022,” ECA Chair Per Jaldung said.

“The ECA Dealer Championship brings together the best dealers from all over Europe in the spirit of healthy competition, while the Industry Forum is a special get-together for industry stakeholders, suppliers and researchers to celebrate the collaborative nature of this business. We believe these events will be more important than ever in 2022 as the industry rebounds from the pandemic and seeks to address the challenges of the ‘new’ future,” Hermann Pamminger, Secretary-General of ECA, said.

Entain, the leading global sports betting and gaming entertainment group, has launched a share ownership plan for over 22,500 employees. The group-wide plan will allow employees in the UK and abroad to profit from the growth of Entain’s global business.

Around 22,500 employees at all levels of the business can now apply to join Entain’s ShareSave plan. In the UK, where Entain has 2885 Ladbrokes and Coral shops, almost 14,000 retail workers can apply for the plan. By starting monthly contributions at just £5 or more, Entain hopes to put share ownership within reach of everyone, including people across its international operations.

Entain said ShareSave will initially be offered to colleagues working in countries representing around 99% of its workforce, also including the Philippines, India and Bulgaria. The company said it had initially placed a £100 monthly cap on contributions to reflect the truly global nature of its business and currency differences across the workforce, with the aim of maximising the appeal to all colleagues.

“Entain has been one of the highest performing companies in the FTSE-100 over the past year, which is the result of hard work and efforts from teams across our international business. Building a strong customer-centric culture where everyone contributes and shares in our continuing success is really important, so this plan is designed to be attractive and accessible to all,” Jette Nygaard-Andersen, Chief Executive of Entain, said.

Under the terms of the ShareSave plan, colleagues can choose to save a monthly sum from £5 to £100 over three years. At the end of this period, they will have the opportunity to buy shares in Entain for 20% less than their market value at the start of the invitation period, which they can sell for a potential profit. Alternatively, they can retain the stock as shareholders in the company, or simply take their savings back.

Betsoft Gaming has extended its ongoing collaboration with the government-owned Finnish gaming company Paf to the Spanish market. The renowned content provider’s award-winning portfolio is now accessible on Paf’s Spanish platform.

“Paf is a trustworthy operator with a substantial customer base. We look forward to growing our business relationship together. The Spanish market is important to Betsoft, hence our commitment to translation and localisation of our games. We are delighted to see our portfolio going live on Paf.es,” Anna Mackney, Sales Executive at Betsoft Gaming, said.

“Paf is all about giving our clients great entertainment and promoting socially aware and responsible gaming. The games we showcase must reflect this, as our clients trust us to provide both quality and integrity. Partnering with companies like Betsoft is part of our commitment to ensuring this. We are very happy to launch their leading, certified titles across our Spanish platform,” Eric Castro, Head of Content and Casino Games at Paf, said.

Microgaming has signed an exclusive supply deal with game development studio GONG Gaming Technologies.

Launched in 2020 by a team of passionate industry veterans with more than two decades’ experience in the gaming industry, GONG is devoted to the creation of sensational, premium entertainment products.

Prior to this agreement, GONG had previously collaborated with Microgaming on the creation of two new games, the swashbuckling Pirate’s Quest and the gloriously ghoulish Skulls Heap.

GONG’s first exclusive release under the new deal, Inferno Gladiator, is available via Microgaming’s leading online gaming platform. Set in a fiery colosseum, this high-volatility Roman-themed slot comes packed with free spins and sticky wilds.

“We at GONG are honoured and excited to collaborate with Microgaming! Our main goal is to create high-quality, entertaining and engaging games, and we’re constantly looking to improve and innovate. We were really pleased with the feedback we received for our two recent Microgaming releases, Pirate’s Quest and Skulls Heap, and we can’t wait to take our future content to the next level alongside Microgaming,” Dima Farbman, Co-Founder and CEO at GONG Gaming Technologies, said.

“It’s great to see a new studio bringing multiple games to the market so quickly, and we’re thrilled to welcome GONG to our platform. With a maths-first logic, and some great creations to their name already, GONG are actively pursuing innovative content. We believe they have the potential to deliver even more sophisticated gaming technology, wrapped up with strong artwork, into the future,” Andrew Booth, Director of Games at Microgaming, said.

Pronet Gaming has been shortlisted in the “Retail Supplier of the Year” category at the Global Gaming Awards London 2021.

“Our fully-managed omni-channel solution, built to empower land-based estates and connects seamlessly to any online operation or POS hardware, had a string of major successes in multiple jurisdictions over the past year and we’re honoured to have our hard work recognised,” Bobby Longhurst, CCO of Pronet Gaming, said.

“Taking place in June 2021, Pronet Gaming looking forward to the results show and hopefully bringing home the award in a hotly contested area. I would also like to congratulate all of the other nominees across all of the categories,” Bobby Longhurst, added.

Pronet Gaming offers a next-generation platform that delivers the gaming experience of the future. Armed with market-specific online sportsbook, casino and retail solutions, it combines a technology-led approach with vast industry know-how to provide clients with a rapid and reliable service tailored to their needs.

HESS Cash Systems, a subsidiary of the Gauselmann Group, has appointed Harald Heinz as its Managing Director.

In this new role, he will be responsible for International Sales and Service as well as the areas of Product Management, Software and Hardware Development. He has the necessary experience from over 20 years of management responsibility in sales and service of listed and unlisted corporations. Heinz has been managing the international sales department at Hess for the past four years.

As CEO and Managing Director, Dominik Seel is still responsible for National Sales and Service, Marketing and Public Relations, the business unit Operations as well as for the areas of Purchasing, Finance, Controlling, Order Processing, Human Resources and Administration.

“My goal is to provide and inspire our customers with solutions and services ‘Made in Germany.’ The targeted marketing of existing solutions in growth markets and the development of new solutions and requirements that digitization offers, play a central role here. I am looking forward to further support HESS Cash Systems and to build a strong management duo together with Dominik Seel,” Harald Heinz said.

“With Mr. Heinz we gained a successful manager from our own ranks for this responsible role. Over the past years, he has proven that he has taken the opportunities on the market for HESS in order to generate profitable growth from it,” Lars Felderhoff, CFO of the Gauselmann Group, said.