Tag: Industry News

Entain Plc has partnered with financial security technology services provider Synalogik to strengthen its identity, financial and credit checks. Through the deal, Entain has become the first major igaming operator to deploy Synalogik credit check and financial assessment systems.

Synalogik’s technology enables automatic checking and risk-scoring of thousands of customers simultaneously, providing accurate risk and open source intelligence reports in seconds rather than hours or even days with traditional methods. This significantly improves response times for customers whilst ensuring full compliance with regulatory and data protection requirements, which differ considerably across jurisdictions.

“This delivers on our vision of leveraging innovation and technology to create the best experience for every customer whilst delivering the highest standards of compliance effectiveness and corporate governance,” Brendan MacDonald, Director of Customer Protection at Entain, said.

“We are delighted that Entain is using our Scout system to support its compliance and governance processes. This unique solution provides an enriched customer view, in near real-time, drawn from multiple data sources, which enhances decision making and delivers significant efficiency and cost savings,” Gareth Mussell, CEO at Synalogik, said.

Entain, the leading global sports betting and gaming entertainment group, has announced the completion of the acquisitions of two European operators, Bet.pt and Enlabs AB.

The latest acquisitions take Entain into four new regulated European markets and provide a springboard to enter further markets intending to regulate for sports betting and gaming. This time last year Entain had operations in 21 fully regulated markets, later adding Germany and Colombia. That total has risen to 27 following the latest acquisitions.

Looking ahead, the Group expects to increase further the number of regulated markets in which it operates through a combination of positive regulatory developments in certain jurisdictions, like Canada, and expansion into new countries in regions including Latin America and Central and Eastern Europe.

“These new acquisitions are in line with our strategy to expand into new locally regulated markets. We are committed to operating only in countries which are either already fully regulated or in the process of regulating and will continue to look for opportunities to expand our business internationally,” Rob Wood, CFO & Deputy Chief Executive of Entain, said.

“Portugal and the Baltic region represent highly attractive, locally regulated and fast-growing gaming markets. Both these acquisitions further deliver on our growth strategy of expanding across fast-growing international markets,” Rob Wood added.

Greek gambling operator OPAP has announced its consolidated financial results for the period ended December 31, 2020.

OPAP reported revenues in FY 2020 stood at €1129.8m lower by 30.3% y-o-y. GGR came in at €230.9m decreased by 48.3% y-o-y as a result of the imposed lockdowns on retail venues. Net Profit in FY 2020 increased 1.5% to €205.3m (FY 2019: €202.4m).

Q4 2020 net profit reached €132.1m versus net profit of €61.8m in Q4 2019, while on an l-f-l basis Q4 2020 net profit dropped by 74.3%. Net profit has been positively affected by the recognition in Q4 of a €142.7m gain related to the re-measurement of the 36.75% stake held by Kaizen Gaming’s Greek and Cypriot operations.

Jan Karas, CEO of OPAP, said: “Although Q4 was yet another quarter disrupted by Covid-19, with retail closure and restrictions imposed for tackling the pandemic, OPAP has once again demonstrated substantial operational and financial readiness to mitigate the impact, through its diversified portfolio.

On the operational front, online growth contributed significantly to our topline, with both our revenues and our customer base reaching all-time high levels. At the same time, our investment in Kaizen Gaming, which operates the leading Stoiximan brand, has been concluded, our games portfolio has been further enhanced and our retail network partners have been supported efficiently.

Looking forward and having successfully preserved our solid financial position and cash reserves, we continue – despite the still prevailing exceptional conditions – to build on what we have already accomplished. With confidence, we are pursuing the successful execution of OPAP’s new business strategy, the Fast Forward strategy, in order to deliver even better Gaming Entertainment to our customers.”

Fintech company OKTO has partnered with the Slovenia-based casino management system provider Ensico to enable instant, cashless, mobile payments for players on gaming machines with the OKTO app in casino properties across Europe.

The powerful universal open-loop mobile payment app, tailored for the gaming industry, enables users to pay and play fast and easy directly on gaming machines connected to the Ensico CMS. Under this partnership, OKTO and Ensico aim to reduce payment friction, enhance the player experience and boost retention rates, allowing real-time, instant transfers between gaming machines and the OKTO app in a simple, secure and convenient way.

As the OKTO.WALLET platform is directly integrated with the Ensico CMS, players can add funds directly from their IOS or Android mobile via the OKTO app to gaming machines, as well as get the winnings back to their OKTO.WALLET in real-time, without the use of any other Money-in or Cash-out system.

Simon Dorsen, Director of Gaming at OKTO, said: “To stay competitive in today’s new normal, merchants should be able to cater to different needs and demands as well as to different demographics that are growing even more diverse. European countries are seamlessly adopting digital payment at a great pace, and with the pandemic, we’re likely to see a faster decline in cash payments.

Our partnership with Ensico is well-timed, as retail gaming operations are now competing in an increasingly digital world, and it is essential for them to have a digital payment strategy to increase store foot traffic and level-up customer experience. Gaming operators need to consider how they will adapt their operations for the new reality, and this includes the necessity to offer players cashless payment options now more than ever. We are excited to meet that demand for Enscio CMS customers with the OKTO.WALLET.”

Mario Slapnik, Chief Technology Officer at Ensico CMS, said: “Cashless systems have increasingly become the new norm, simply since society demands it. This shift should not be underestimated, as cashless transactions become the norm and rapidly impact niche industries like casino and gaming.

Security, trust and the need for speed should be at the forefront of the experience, therefore, a secure, reliable, and robust payments infrastructure needs to be in place, and we found all at OKTO, meeting our casino partners’ demand.”

Playtech has partnered with leading Swiss operator Casinò Lugano SA to launch its products through the casino’s online brand Swiss4Win.ch.

Through this new partnership, Swiss4Win.ch has become the first platform in the combined Italian-Swiss region to go online with Playtech’s industry-leading information management solution (IMS), Casino and Live Casino content.

“The continued growth and development of Switzerland’s online casino market in the last few years makes it an exciting growth area for our Casino and Live Casino offering. Live Casino is a key product vertical for Playtech, and we look forward to working with Casinò Lugano to deliver our data driven, omni-channel IMS platform which can help drive the growth of the country’s emerging online market,” Shimon Akad, Chief Operating Officer of Playtech, said.

“We are excited to partner with Playtech and bring the success of Casinò Lugano into the online market. Playtech’s industry-leading software and expertise will help deliver a sustainable and innovative online casino experience to our customers as we enter the online market for the first time,” Gianmaria Frapolli, CEO and Board Member of Casinò Lugano SA, said.

Online gaming content and solutions provider CT Gaming Interactive has entered into a content integration agreement with SoftGamings, a leader in the development of gaming platforms.

Launching soon via the platform, a wide range of the provider’s market-leading games will be available on multiple casino brands. Lucky Clover, 40 Treasures, Clover Wheel, WinStorm, all players’ favourites will go live, along with many more top-performing games tailored to any preferences.

“By penning a contract with such an established company we expect to extend further our players’ base and our games to perform strongly. Our diverse range of content is already ranking high with players in multiple markets and our goal is providing an online casino experience that outperforms the market,” Lachezar Petrov, General Director at CT Gaming Interactive, said.

“The moment we inked the deal with CT Gaming Interactive, we knew our gaming portfolio had improved immensely thanks to a provider that offers superbly crafted slot games packed with exciting bonuses and gameplay features. This deal will allow our casino operators to integrate CT Gaming Interactive’s games into their platforms and maintain a competitive edge only a top-quality casino lobby can provide. We look forward to a long and fruitful cooperation with CT Gaming Interactive that will help us push the boundaries of the iGaming world further,” Irina Sazonova, Director of Partnerships at SoftGamings, said.

EGT and its subsidiary EGT Multiplayer have reached another milestone in the gaming market of Spain together with their proven in performance partner – the highly respected operator Grupo Gran Madrid. The companies launched the S-Line series of multiplayer terminals and presented it to the local gaming audience with the model S32, connected to an automated roulette center and equipped with the KING R multigame that may also support a live roulette.

“Grupo Gran Madrid is committed to offer to its customers the best gaming experience through innovation in its different channels. EGT’s portfolio brings variety and value to our casinos, so it is a pleasure to premiere the latest S32 roulette terminal. We are confident that it will be a great success,” Sergio Rupérez, head of product retail – online at Grupo Gran Madrid, said.

Following the expectations of the operator, the EGT Multiplayer’s product immediately provoked the players with its stylish, standing-out design and piqued their interest, generating a myriad of positive comments from its first day of action in Spain. The terminal is initially installed in Casino de Colón with upcoming plans to enter also the rest of the operator’s establishments, provided that it keeps its rising performance. Most appreciated by the casino’s guests are its user friendly navigation, comfort and fresh and distinctive look.

“The S32 is by far our most successful product and our definite bestseller for 2020. Nowadays it has been widely installed in Latin America, Europe, Asia and Africa and the operators’ interest for it is ever growing. Its unique performance in Spain, in an establishment of the rank of Casino de Colón, is another source of pride for us, moreover this specific project took us and our colleagues from EGT Spain almost a year to develop. We thank to our client for the given opportunity to show the potential of a product, based on a simple and clear concept, but winning the hearts of the players almost instantly,” Borislav Marinov, Sales & Marketing Director of EGT Multiplayer, said.

“We have been working for years with Grupo Gran Madrid and have established our partnership on mutual trust and proven results of our previous slot installations that included the renown Super Premier, Super Premier 75, P-24/24 Up, P-42V St Curved, Egypt Quest, as well as of the agreement we have for our interactive games. Now we have made another step forward in players’ satisfaction with the S32. It is just the beginning of the S-Line journey in Spain, but it paves the way for a very strong 2021 in terms of further deliveries of the EGT Multiplayer’s roulette terminals. We are looking forward to accomplishing all these exciting projects,” Kristian Kostovski, director of EGT Spain, said.

The Netherlands Gaming Authority Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) is expecting that it will have to grant around 35 online gambling licences, after its iGaming regulation comes into force.

KSA said it expects to receive around 40 licence applications, many of which will come from international operators, when the Remote Gambling Act comes into effect on April 1.

The regulator has stated this in its annual report 2020, alongside key requirements for licence holders, and the additional powers granted to the KSA to tackle illegal gambling activities.

The report reaffirmed the importance for operators to abide by the parts of the Remote Gambling Act concerning addiction prevention and consumer protection.

Notably, all operators must check players against the “Cruks” self-exclusion database, as well as providing the Control Database (CDB) with their own data captured from games, allowing the KSA to carry out remote monitoring of game systems. Cruks and the CDB went into construction in 2020, with follow-up actions still required in the early months of 2021 to make the systems operational.

An extension of the gambling levy will also be used to set up an Addiction Prevention Fund, with proceeds being used to provide anonymous treatment of gambling addiction, and research prevention and treatment.

KSA also revealed in the report that it made €8.2m in gambling taxes in 2020, up 12.3% plus €644,000 from fees, down 41.5%.

The report also mentioned licensing data for slot arcades, where the KSA granted 43 permits in 2020 and denied nine. A further 10 applications were withdrawn while seven applications were approved after changes were implemented.

KSA added that there was a decrease in online gambling web traffic throughout 2020, which it said was due to sports cancellations.

Evoplay Entertainment has announced a rebrand to its visual identity and mission that reflects a deep dedication to supporting partners and delivering “mainstream appeal” to the iGaming industry.

Coinciding with the unveiling of the new brand, Evoplay Entertainment launched its updated website (www.evoplay.games), now focused on gaming and online casino solutions that build a better way for operators to grow.

Ivan Kravchuk, CEO of Evoplay, said: “In just three years we’ve built incredible success. Now we reach the point where our vision for the next 10 years takes shape. We drop the word ‘entertainment’ from our name because Evoplay no longer needs it – our work is now synonymous with entertainment.

“Visually, we’ve refreshed our look and created a new logo, typography and a mascot – these tie together our campaigns, showcase our dynamic approach, and streamline how we communicate. How we use this will be wide-ranging and advanced beyond what you usually see in our industry.

“But behind the cosmetic and visual changes, we’ve made deep shifts to our brand mission, our brand promise, and the brand values that will dominate our work going forward.”

In addition to continuing to produce popular instant, table and video slot games, Evoplay will apply its award-winning approach to an area it believes is central to the future of the industry: bringing new audiences to online casinos.

Vladimir Malakchi, Chief Business Officer at Evoplay, said: “This rebrand solidifies our stance as an industry leader offering next-generation gaming, cross-industry marketing innovations, and unparalleled partner service.

“Evoplay’s vision of an iGaming world that has mainstream appeal has now been baked into our work at every level. From the games we develop to the advertising that promotes them; from the communications we craft to the way we help our partners with marketing and support their success at every step of the business journey.

“We are confident that Evoplay will not only be the game developer of choice for online casinos, but will also help raise the profile of the industry itself and attract new audiences. We’ve always had bold ambitions – what excites us now is that we’ve developed a 10-year business plan fully built around those ambitions.”