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EUROPE’S NEW ‘GAMBLING FRONTIER’ COMES UNDER THE SPOTLIGHT AT SBC DIGITAL SUMMIT CIS

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The huge potential of the betting and gaming markets in Ukraine, Uzbekistan and Georgia is set to be a central theme of SBC Digital Summit CIS on 4 – 5 November.

The virtual conference and exhibition comes as many operators are seeking new opportunities away from the fierce competition in Europe’s established regulated markets, while at the same time some governments in the CIS region have identified gambling as a potentially lucrative source of tax revenue. 

SBC and its local partner, Sports Media Holding, have compiled an agenda that will see 75 senior executive speakers examine what the rapidly-changing market conditions mean for operators and suppliers, where the largest opportunities are located, and how to make the most of them.

Georgia is the example that many in the industry would like to see the rest of the region follow. It has regulated land-based casinos, betting shops and gaming halls, with licence holders also permitted to offer equivalent online activities. 

As a result, the gambling industry has become a vital part of the Georgian economy, accounting for 8.4% of the country’s total business revenue in 2017. Operators generate more than GEL135 million (€35.3 million) a year in taxes, while the thriving casino resorts are an important driver of income for the tourism sector. 

The potential of the online market, which has achieved a 40% compound annual growth rate since 2016, has already caught the eye of major international operators. Flutter purchased a controlling stake in Georgia’s largest online sportsbook and casino Adjarabet last year, to follow GVC and Betsson, owners of Crystalbet and Europebet respectively, into the market. 

 

The Georgia – The Gaming Hub of CIS? panel at SBC Digital Summit CIS will provide an in-depth examination of how this success was achieved, what can be done to further improve the model, and what opportunities exist for potential new market entrants. 

Georgia is not the only established regulated market in the region; its southern neighbour Armenia, for example, also has a licensing regime that permits online sports betting and casinos. However, both nations have populations below four million, and there are some significantly larger markets set to open up in the region over the next 12 months. 

In Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky’s government has passed legislation to end the country’s 11-year prohibition on all forms of gambling other than lotteries. The new law means licences will be available for land-based and online casinos, retail and online sports betting, gaming machines, online poker, and totaliser contracts, opening up a country of 42 million people to a wide range of operators.

The development has turned Ukraine into one of the global gambling industry’s biggest opportunities. The illegal gambling market in the country is thought to be worth more than €1 billion, and both the government and operators expect the regulated market to be significantly bigger. 

Details of the regulations, taxes and licence fees in the Gambling Act are now being carefully scrutinised by both CIS-based operators and competitors from further afield. Parimatch has already stated its intention to bid for a licence in its home territory, and it seems only a matter of time before others reach the same decision, despite some concerns about the increased licence fees that will be levied during the transition to a regulated market. 

 

SBC Digital Summit CIS’s Welcome to Ukraine panel will assess the opportunities for those international operators considering entering the market, and take a detailed look at the legislation and what it means for the industry. 

Uzbekistan is another nation that has recognised the potential economic benefits of establishing a regulated gambling industry. President Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s government has unveiled plans to legalise both online and retail sports betting in 2021, in order to raise funds for the development of football and other sports in the country. At the same time, a review of the lottery sector – currently the only legal form of gambling in Uzbekistan – is underway, with the intention of replacing all existing lotteries with a new national lottery. 

With a population of 33 million, Uzbekistan seemingly offers significant potential to the operators that secure betting licences. However, the full details of the regulatory regime are still to emerge and it is unclear whether applications will be accepted from overseas companies or restricted to local ones. International operators interested in the market can perhaps take some encouragement from the fact the government has opened up the country to foreign investment since the death of the long-serving president Islam Karimov in 2016.  

 

The Uzbekistan Regulations session will investigate what format the regulated betting market may take and evaluate how big the market opportunity is. 

Further panels during SBC Digital Summit CIS will address issues that influence market development right across the CIS, Ukraine and Georgia, including the evolution of payments technologies in the region, local marketing strategies, and the opportunities created by the growth of esports and the resurgent popularity of online poker.

In addition to the conference, the event will feature an interactive product display area with leading suppliers showcasing the latest sportsbook, casino and payments innovations tailored to local markets, together with a programme of networking roundtables to make it straightforward for delegates to connect and talk business. 

Click here to register for a free pass for SBC Digital Summit CIS.

Co-founder and Chief Editor of AYO.NEWS: Coming from an art and design background, Oliver has a passion for video games and esports, and has several years of experience working at the heart of the iGaming and sports betting industry in Malta.

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ENTAIN PUTS F1 FANS IN DRIVING SEAT WITH EXCLUSIVE MCLAREN RACING CONTENT

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Image credit: Entain / McLaren

Entain, the global sports betting, gaming and interactive entertainment group, has announced exclusive McLaren Racing content for Formula 1 fans. 

The partnership between the team and Entain’s PartyCasino and partypoker brands launched at the start of this year’s F1 season with the Monaco Grand Prix in May. The company will now be running international TV adverts until the end of the season in late December, and is promising customers “special access to the McLaren F1 team” through the two gaming brands. 

“We want Party to be a destination for customers around the world who enjoy games and sharing experiences around the sports and activities they love,” said Paris Anatolitis, Managing Director of Party Brands and Commercial Director of Entain. “This is about creating recreational content which encourages people to take a look and explore new ways of enjoying themselves with our brands.”

A range of new offers are also being launched to coincide with the new campaign, including Super Fan competitions, videos giving fans a look behind the scenes at McLaren Racing, and an exclusive free-to-play McLaren F1 game. 

Further exclusive content and experiences are also planned for 2022.

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PRAGMATIC PLAY LAUNCHES “JOHN HUNTER AND THE QUEST FOR BERMUDA RICHES™”

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Pragmatic Play, a leading content provider to the iGaming industry, is back with another instalment to its iconic John Hunter series in latest release, John Hunter and the Quest for Bermuda Riches™.

As the title suggests, the 7×7 slot title invites players to hunt for hidden treasure in the pink-sand beaches and deep waters that encompass the territory of Bermuda.

Thanks to the Tumble feature, symbols that have been part of a win will disappear, and the symbols above will tumble down and take their place. The game will then play with this new collection of symbols as a new game with no cost to the player. This process may be repeated until there is no win.

Regular golden Wild symbols will occasionally turn into Cursed Wilds. Cursed Wilds are upgraded with an x2 multiplier, or extra wilds will be randomly placed on the grid.

Money symbols with random cash values will land on the grid in the base game, and if players land a Collect symbol at the same time, all the values are collected. The only catch is that there are four different Collect symbols, each with its own unique requirements and rewards.

Landing three or more Scatter symbols can trigger wins worth up to 100x the player’s stake and will unleash the Free Spins feature, along with 12 free spins. Players willing to buy this feature can, but it will cost them 100x their total stake each time they want to access it.

The Quest for Bermuda Riches is the latest instalment in the wildly successful John Hunter series, following his adventures in The Mayan GodsThe Book of TutThe Tomb of the Scarab QueenAztec Treasure and Da Vinci’s Treasure.

The new release arrives in the wake of recent hits Cash Bonanza™, Mystic Chief™, and Piggy Bank Bills™, which reside amongst a collection of over 200 HTML5 titles in Pragmatic Play’s award-winning games portfolio.

Yossi Barzely, Chief Business Development Officer at Pragmatic Play, said: “The John Hunter series has become a staple of our portfolio, and we’re thrilled to inject new life into it with the launch of John Hunter and the Quest for Bermuda Riches™.

“We’re always looking for new ways to entertain our customers with exciting content, and the John Hunter series presents us with the perfect opportunity to continue an epic narrative with equally thrilling mechanics.”

Pragmatic Play currently produces up to five new slot titles a month, while also delivering Live Casino and Bingo games as part of its multi-product portfolio, available through one single API.

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RUSH STREET INTERACTIVE LAUNCHES “RUSHARENA” MULTIPLAYER TOURNAMENT ENGINE

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Image credit: Rush Street Interactive

Rush Street Interactive (RSI), operator of the BetRivers, PlaySugar House, and RushBet online casino and sportsbook brands, has unveiled RushArena™ – a new multiplayer tournament engine.

The new platform was created to offer peer-to-peer promotional games that extend player experiences, allowing players to compete head-to-head on their own time, and builds off RSI’s success with its popular bingo games. 

RSI’s initial execution of RushArena is RushRace™ which offers the following:

  • Permits players to join at any time in the tournament window 
  • Tournaments are designed so players can choose from a wide number of game selections
  • Players can switch games during the tournament to try their luck at a different title
  • Players can start with different balances and win based on a wide range of different outcomes  
  • Players can adjust wager amounts based on desired strategy 
  • Leader boards and player positions are updated in real time and can be viewed while competing 
  • Tournament entries may be awarded by a wide range of methods, including purchases from RSI’s proprietary bonus store using bonus store points

“Enhancing the player experience remains our top business strategy,” said Richard Schwartz, CEO of RSI. “We listen to our customers, and by owning, building and innovating the framework, we can tailor our games to deliver what our casino players, or insights obtained from them, have told us they want.  We use these ground-breaking game mechanics to create new experiences, which is consistent with our goal to increase retention, loyalty, and business KPIs.”

The engine used to create RushArena and its RushRaces will also soon be employed to create peer-to-peer competition events, which will allow BetRivers.com, PlaySugarHouse.com, and RushBet patrons to challenge each other in fun and rewarding battles.

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BETSOFT GAMING RELEASES CRIME CAPER OF THE YEAR WITH “RETURN TO PARIS™”

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Renowned content provider, Betsoft Gaming, once again shows its provenance as the market leader for true cinematic iGaming slots with stunning release Return to Paris™. Following the smash hit A Night In Paris™, the Thief with an eye for an antique is back – and so is the Cop, looking to hunt him down! Loaded with frequent wins, Multipliers, explosive Wilds and an engaging Free Spins round, this five reel 20 payline slot is the cartoon crime caper of the year.

Welcome to Paris by night: the romantically lit boulevards and shimmering Eiffel Tower are the backdrop to the museum, full of priceless artwork – including the Mona Lisa – and the crown jewels. On duty is the Cop, ready to protect Paris’ artefacts from the light-fingered Thief. Each piece of stolen artwork has its own Multiplier – the more you recover of each symbol, the higher the Multiplier! It’s a race against time as the Thief must put his loot in the unique bar-counter under the grid and build up the Multipliers before the Cop catches up with him.

Studded with fabulous graphics, Return to Paris™ showcases Betsoft’s trademark cinematic skills. Jewels and statues are the high value symbols and a Monet-inspired painting is the WILD. The Thief steals a nearby symbol and stashes it in his collection whilst taking its place on the reels. Each theft increases the on-screen MULTIPLIER COUNTER by one and a random symbol will replace the stolen one as the Thief moves on. Spin the reels to find the Cop. With a screech of tyres and a wailing siren, he will chase the Thief around the grid to put him behind bars and return the stolen goodies. The player gets a win PLUS the built-up Multiplier. The Multiplier is then reset to 1 and the chase starts all over again.

The big draw is the Mona Lisa and this fulsome lady is clearly loving her starring role as the SCATTER. Appearing only on reels 2, 3 and 4, when THREE Mona Lisas appear, the FREE SPINS round is triggered. You’ve seen the Mona Lisa but we bet you have never seen a FREE SPINS round like this!

The open-ended round starts with the Cop and the Thief in opposite corners of the grid. Each spin moves them vertically or horizontally in a random direction. The Thief continues to steal everything in his path, adding constantly to the Multiplier as the Cop chases him down.

Until they meet on adjacent squares, Free Spins will keep triggering – with up to 1,000 FREE SPINS to be had!

The trusty law enforcement officer will return all the stolen art at the end of Free Spins and the player will receive a Five of a Kind equivalent payout PLUS any built up Multipliers from the symbols. The Multiplier is then reset to 1 and the chase is back on!

The Cop is no pushover however: not content with just chasing the Thief and returning his ill-gotten gains, when they both appear adjacently on the reels – horizontally or vertically – things get hot. A bundle of dynamite rolls on to the screen and BOOM! All symbols become Wilds in the WILD EXPLOSION feature bringing even more big win chances your way.

With high frequency hit rates in the base game and super high frequency hit rates of 82.97% in the Free Spins round PLUS 1056x your stake to be had, it’s not surprising that everyone will Return To Paris™ this autumn!

Anna Mackney, Head of Account Management, Betsoft Gaming, said: ‘Betsoft Gaming has surpassed even its own legendary cinematographic skills with Return to Paris™. The incredible attention to detail makes this release fresh with every replay. The atmospheric soundtrack, with its Parisian street music, sirens, explosions and humorous mutterings, reinforces the theme fantastically well. This release sets a new bar in iGaming content and we anticipate a very positive response.’

Scheduled for release 28th October 2021, Return to Paris™ will join Betsoft’s constantly growing and award-winning portfolio of desktop and mobile video slots.

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FAST TRACK LAUNCHES SINGULARITY MODEL TO DELIVER 1:1 IGAMING PLAYER EXPERIENCES

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Photo by Hunter Harritt on Unsplash

Fast Track has revealed a first-of-its-kind product that enables iGaming operators to deliver 1:1 experiences to players.

The Singularity Model features an engine that observes every action the player makes in real time and uses advanced machine learning and computations to establish a comprehensive player profile. Once this is established, the Singularity model hand picks the content, times and channels that are best suited to the individual player and creates a relevant, timely engagement.

“We have been working towards delivering this solution since the early days of Fast Track. Within the iGaming industry we have spoken about creating 1:1 experiences with our players for many years but have not had access to the right tools to make it a reality. I am excited and proud that Fast Track is making 1:1 player experiences possible for the first time with the Singularity Model,” commented Simon Lidzén, CEO and Co-founder of Fast Track.

Operators are given full control of the data, decision-making framework and tech stack and can customise every aspect according to their unique needs. According to the company, this technology marks the beginning of the next generation of player engagement within the industry, fundamentally changing the way operators interact with players.

To further support 1:1 experiences, Fast Track is also rolling out a completely new data analytics platform: Fast Track Data Studio. Sitting on top of Fast Track’s real-time data feed, the Data Studio will allow users to carry out complex queries in lightning-fast time, assisting users to make more informed decisions about their business with easily digestible and customisable dashboards.

Fast Track’s partners will also have access to the Singularity Project, a comprehensive intelligence hub managed by a dedicated data science team. The team will be publishing the results of relevant experiments and sharing insights that can be used with the Singularity Model.

 

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SCIENTIFIC GAMES TO SELL LOTTERY BUSINESS IN $6.05 BILLION DEAL

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Image credit: Scientific Games

Scientific Games has announced the sale of its lottery business to Brookfield Business Partners in a deal worth up to US$6.05 billion. 

Under the agreement, Brookfield Business Partners will pay $5.85 billion in cash, and a further performance-based earn-out of up to $225M. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2022, subject to applicable regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions.

Scientific Games Lottery currently has long-term partnerships with around 130 government and non-government run lotteries in more than 50 countries. The business provides turn-key solutions covering the entire lottery ecosystem, including instant and terminal-generated games, sports betting, lottery systems and retail technology, and the iLottery market. The company says it powers around 60% of all instant product retail sales globally. 

Regarding the news, Barry Cottle, President and CEO of Scientific Games, said: “This transaction is transformative in accelerating the delivery of our stated strategy to optimize our portfolio, aggressively de-lever our balance sheet and position us to invest in future growth. We conducted a thorough review of paths to divest the Lottery business and we are confident that this transaction maximizes value and certainty while minimizing complexity and execution risk, and positions both Scientific Games and SG Lottery for continued success along their unique growth trajectories.

“The significant near-term proceeds from this transaction as well as our previously announced sale of Sports Betting will transform our balance sheet and provide the financial flexibility to invest organically and inorganically to accelerate our strategies. This marks a major milestone and puts us on a clear path to achieve our vision to become the leading cross-platform global game company and unlock our full value for shareholders.”

David Nowak, Managing Partner, Brookfield Business Partners, added: “The Scientific Games Lottery team has built a leading business, which has innovated its industry, at the convergence of games, technology and services, across retail and digital channels for its global customers. With our capabilities and global reach, we look forward to supporting management in the continued growth of the business.”

Just last month, Endeavor Group Holdings, the NYSE-listed global sports and entertainment company, agreed to acquire content, platform, and service provider OpenBet from Scientific Games Corporation for US$1.2 billion.

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