Online gaming software developer EvenBet has secured a supplier license from the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA). 

The new license, which covers EvenBet’s core poker offering along with casino and sports betting integrations, will allow the company to significantly expand its international reach, in the European market and further afield. 

Evenbet’s poker platform includes a Mini Games feature, offering access to hundreds of slots and other games, plus a sports betting function that lets players wager on live sports from within the online poker room. 

Commenting on the news EvenBet Gaming CEO, Dmitry Starostenkov, said:

“We are delighted to have been awarded a supplier licence by the MGA in what is an important landmark in the history of EvenBet Gaming.

“Our new licence will help us significantly expand  the reach of our services. In recent months, the popularity of online poker has grown exponentially and we’re well positioned to meet the demands of operators and players alike.”

The company has launched over 100 poker rooms in the past decade, offering 33 different game types and serving around 5 million active players. 

AYO.NEWS says:

The mass cancellation of global sports during the ongoing COVID-19 crisis has seen a resurgence of online poker as operators look to provide customers with alternative entertainment. 

A few weeks ago, ahead of the SBC Digital Summit, we caught up with EvenBet CEO, Dmitry Starostenkov, to get his take on the state of online poker and how EvenBet was responding. 

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates. 

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2020

Player-friendly approach to casino comparisons sees audience grow to new highs. 

In January 2019, two iGaming enthusiasts from southern Finland, Paavo Salonen and Jonas Kyllönen, created an affiliate site which follows a different path to competitors in the sector – Mr-Gamble.com was conceived to provide a user-friendly service that details the key benefits for different online casinos.

In a little over a year, the team at Mr-Gamble (owned by CashMagnet Ltd) has grown from two to sixteen people, and their site is attracting millions of views and an audience of thousands, eager to find a more discerning comparison site for online casinos.  With such impressive growth, the company is now moving to bigger offices in their adopted home town of Tallinn, Estonia.

Putting the players first has been key to this success, with the team’s focus to build a casino comparison site which highlights the various benefits from leading online casino operators.  Easy-to-use filters allow players to match specific search criteria to their needs, such as high quality casino bonuses, with a brand promise to help users “find a 200% bonus in under one minute”.

Moreover, with responsible gaming high on regulators agendas for 2020, not least due to COVID-19, Mr-Gamble’s onboarding policies for new casinos include strict criteria to ensure player protection.  Time-out periods, self-exclusion options, financial limits, and more are all in place to reassure players that beyond the entertainment factor, their well-being is key. 

Jonas Kyllönen explains, “While our competitors focus simply on the bonus offer and a select few aspects of gaming, Mr-Gamble.com highlights things like hidden T’s & C’s and other small details that make up the overall quality of a casino’s service and the bonuses they offer. We even include a section purely for casinos that offer free spins, allowing players to find free spin offers without deposits.  This sets us apart from old school affiliates and builds trust with our audience, resulting in a high proportion of returning visitors.”

Kyllönen, who leads on all aspects of marketing for Mr-Gamble, also realises that staying plugged in to media platforms such as Twitch and Instagram enable the company to attract some of their users from the elusive millennial market.  

“In just six months”, says Kyllönen, “we became the most watched slots channel on Twitch in Finland, and alongside our Instagram following, this allows us to stay in touch with our audience across multiple touch points – it’s been key to our growth. We still see SEO and PPC as the main pillars of the casino affiliates sector, but complimentary channels like Twitch are both entertaining and good for business.”

This well-rounded approach to the casino comparison sector is both innovative and forward-thinking, standing the company in good stead for the coming decade, during which adapting to change and staying on top of market trends will separate the men from the boys.

Mr Gamble’s affiliate offering is already well-established in Finland, and in April 2020 Mr-Gamble expanded operations to more English-speaking markets including the UK and Canada. The company also plans to target the US market, with licensing currently underway, and is looking at opportunities in Asia. 

Alongside Finnish casino enquiries, the company invites English language operators from international markets, particularly in the UK and Canada, to contact silver@cashmagnet.money for more information on deals and listings.

iGaming operator LeoVegas has reported a “slightly negative impact” from the COVID-19 crisis during the first quarter of 2020. 

LeoVegas saw revenue grow 4% year-on-year in Q1, to €89.4m, although its parent company reported a €0.9m loss after tax. EBITDA also rose 25%, to €9m, with EBITDA margin increasing from 8.3% to 10%. 

New depositing customers in the period grew 6% to 413,269, and the operator saw a record number of returning depositing customers, which were up 10% to 219,841. 

The share of Net Gaming Revenue (NGR) from locally regulated markets was also up slightly at 53% compared to 50% for the same period last year. 

Like many other gaming companies, the quarter saw LeoVegas switch to a home working model for most employees, though operations continued without significant disruption.

Reflecting on LeoVegas’ performance, CEO Gustaf Hagman, said:

“The effects of the COVID-19 crisis are hard to assess, and the conditions are changing constantly. As an entrepreneur I have great empathy for other businesses that have been forced to fight for their survival.

“Our assessment is that the COVID-19 crisis thus far has had a neutral to slightly negative impact on the group’s Swedish revenues; moreover, the assessment is that international revenues have increased somewhat relating to market shares moving from land-based to online gaming.

“At the same time, we are cognisant of the risk for a global recession, during which people’s leisure budgets would likely decrease, in turn affecting the company.”

As we reported earlier this week, LeoVegas is one of the operators to have voiced strong opposition to the proposed extra COVID-19 restrictions on online gambling operators in Sweden. 

AYO.NEWS says:

Though the full effects of the COVID-19 crisis won’t really become apparent for most businesses until the end of the second quarter, LeoVegas has found itself well-placed to weather the storm, with a relatively small exposure to traditional sports betting (around 9% of revenue). 

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates. 

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2020

Gaming Innovation Group (GiG) has partnered with open banking solutions provider Volt Technologies, to offer Volt’s tokenised payment solutions to its customers.

According to Amsterdam-based Volt, providing a single source of integration, its blockchain-based open banking solution will enable GiG’s B2B partners to access faster payment options across a wide variety of markets. 

Because open banking is covered by the PSD2 European Union electronic payment services regulation, banks are required to open APIs to licensed third parties. By using these API’s third-party providers can initiate payments or access customers’ banking data, allowing them to develop improved services and experiences. 

Discussing the partnership Chief Commercial Officer at GiG, Ben Clemes, said: 

“We are happy to have partnered with Volt for open source banking, its features align with GIG’s increased focus towards platform services, providing our partners with superior technical solutions to reach their goals. Gaining access to highly accurate data that comes directly from the customer’s bank will become a game-changer for  KYC and compliance-related processes.”

While Chief Commercial Officer at Volt, Jordan Lawrence, added:

“GIG is one of the leaders in technology development enabling the gaming industry, we are delighted to be working with their team. We look forward to unlocking the potential of open banking for GIG’s partner network.”

Casino game and software provider Red Tiger has partnered with Malta-based online operator EnergyCasino. 

In addition to supplying EnergyCasino with games, the Malta-based Red Tiger will also provide engagement features allowing EnergyCasino to create campaigns for players, including Daily Jackpots, Smart Spins, and Tournaments. 

Commenting on the deal Commercial Director at Red Tiger, Chris Looney, said:

“EnergyCasino has enjoyed stellar growth and we’re excited about the mutual opportunities presented by our partnership. We’re excited to see how our games perform, alongside the unique software that underpins them.”

While Casino Manager at EnergyCasino, Marcin Sobieraj, added:

“Delivering the best possible experience to our customers is paramount at EnergyCasino, and we’re delighted to be expanding our portfolio of developers with this Red Tiger deal.

“The company has demonstrated innovation with its top-tier game mechanics and award-winning titles, and we look forward to a successful partnership together.”

Staying with Red Tiger, in March we reported the NetEnt-owned supplier had expanded its Swedish footprint, going live with Svenska Spel Sport and Casino. 

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UK-based gambling giant GVC is strengthening its existing partnership with LeanConvert, the customer conversion and campaign optimisation specialist. 

After working with LeanConvert for a couple of years, during which time the optimisation company became a key stakeholder in GVC’s post-Ladbrokes Coral acquisition marketing strategy, the firms will now enhance cooperation.

Specifically, LeanConvert will collaborate with GVC’s central product team, supporting onsite optimisation, customer personalisation and variance testing for all core brands, while specialists will also be deployed to Roar Digital, the joint GVC-MGM Resorts US wagering venture. 

Discussing the news Head of Customer Experience for GVC Holdings, Stefan Kalcher, said:

“We’ve seen that LeanConvert’s approach to actionable testing is indisputable proof in creating a better customer experience and improved conversion across the board. They have an extremely effective and contagious culture of experimentation that we’re now beginning to propagate and enable internally, with their guidance.”

While LeanConvert Founder and Managing Director, Tim Axon, added:

“In working together, we’ve developed the LeanConvert Framework, optimisation toolkit and workflow to deliver within GVC’s existing teams. While our managed service delivers immediate results and ROI, the in-housing programme we’re building with GVC will support them in setting the stage for scalable growth at an unparalleled velocity.”

LeanConvert was founded by former Oracle EMEA and Maxymiser executive Tim Axon in 2016, and uses customer-centric modelling combined with value-led testing, to help large digital businesses understand their customers. 

The company is also partnered with Adobe Target, Boxever, ContentsSquare, dynamic yield, Google Partners, monetate, Optimizely, and Oracle Maxymiser. 

AYO.NEWS says:

There are plenty of companies out there making bold claims about conversion and optimisation, but GVC’s decision to extend and strengthen its partnership with LeanConvert seems to be a pretty big vote of confidence, and suggests they are doing something that really works. 

Staying with GVC, yesterday we reported that the group’s board of directors and members of its executive committee had agreed to take a 20% salary cut and forfeit bonuses, in response to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. 

Meanwhile, in the United States, GVC’s partner MGM Resorts has thanked the support shown by many of its well-known resident entertainment partners during the crisis. With casinos closed due to the pandemic, many of the celebrities have made significant donations to the MGM Resorts Employee Emergency Grant Fund. 

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates. 

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2020