Connect with us

Casino & Slots

AFRICA-FACING MOBILE GAME PUBLISHER CARRY1ST RAISES $4M

iGaming

AFRICA-FACING MOBILE GAME PUBLISHER CARRY1ST RAISES $4M

Published

on






Image credit: Carry1st

Africa-focused mobile games publisher Carry1st has raised an additional USD $2.5m in its latest funding round, bringing its total capital raised to $4m. 

Investment was led by CRE Venture Capital, with participation from Perivoli Innovations, Chandaria Capital, Lateral Capital, Transsion’s Future Hub, and Kam Kronenberg III among others. Pardon Makumbe, Managing Partner at CRE, and Henry Lowenfels, Chief Product Officer of One Team Partners (formerly Scopely SVP) will also join the company’s board. 

The publisher, which launched in 2019 and has offices in New York, Cape Town and Lagos, and serves the first generation of African smartphone users, says it plans to use the new capital to recruit more top-tier talent, develop its platform technology, and publish new content. 

Carry1st Trivia was ranked the #1 free-to-play Android game in Nigeria and Kenya, and the company says it has now reached over 1.5 million users across the region. It now plans to partner with international studios to launch multiple new games in 2020 and scale its audience to over a million monthly active users. 

Discussing developments Carry1st CEO and former Carlyle dealmaker, Cordel Robbin-Coker, said:

“Social gaming is the largest and fastest-growing form of mobile media, grossing more than three times all other app categories combined. Our mission is to bring this world of interactive content to Africa and likewise to connect Africa to the world.

“Our belief is that building a local publisher, with differentiated tech and operating capabilities across marketing, distribution, and monetization is the way to be this bridge. We are pleased to partner with CRE and our investor group to accelerate this vision.”

 

While CRE Partner, Pardon Makumbe, added:

“We are excited to partner with the world-class team at Carry1st to take the pain out of distributing and monetizing games across Africa. 

“The continent is young, vibrant, and mobile-first — by focusing on the building blocks, we believe Carry1st is well-positioned to define the category, and catalyse the development of the industry for Africa’s over 1.3 billion consumers.”

 

And, Carry1st VO of Operations, Lucy Hoffman, said:

“It’s really exciting to be part of developing a new industry in an emerging region. In doing so, we will stimulate thousands of jobs and drive digital inclusion. When people come online for the first time, they want to connect with people and have fun. In these unusual times we are reminded of the power of games to delight, to educate, and ultimately to unite.”

 

By 2025 it is estimated that Africa will have added more than 350 million smartphone users and increased data consumption by 17 times. 

 

AYO.NEWS says:

Despite its clear potential, the African market is still sadly neglected by many international publishers, so companies like Carry1st are very well placed to capitalise on the potential, and this extra funding should go a long way to enabling them to do just that. 

 

‘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

iGaming

BETGAMES.TV EXPANDS SOUTH AFRICAN FOOTPRINT WITH BET.CO.ZA

Published

on


Image credit: BetGames.TV

Live dealer betting games supplier BetGames.TV has expanded its global reach, strengthening its partnership with Bet.co.za. 

The new agreement will see the South African online and mobile sports betting brand directly integrate BetGames.TV’s entire portfolio. It follows Bet.co.za’s migration to SBTech’s platform in April this year. 

In addition to continued access to BetGames.TV’s popular titles like Baccarat and Wheel of Fortune, Bet.co.za will also benefit from its new catalogue of recently optimised lottery products. 

Discussing the deal CCO at BetGames.TV, Richard Hogg, said:

“Bet.co.za is a highly respected operator and we’re thrilled to help expand its live betting offering with our cutting-edge suite of games.

“As an established South African market leader, we are always excited to boost agreements with existing partners and we look forward to working alongside them in the months and years to come.”

 

While CEO at Bet.co.za, Scott Canny, added:

“Ensuring our players receive the optimal gaming experience lies at the heart of what we do here at Bet.co.za.

“BetGames.TV’s games such as 6+ Poker and Wheel of Fortune are immensely popular with players across the country and we’re delighted to have them on board.”

 

BetGames.TV was awarded the ‘Rising Star in Casino Innovation’ at December’s SBC Awards, and has been shortlisted in five categories for this year’s EGR B2B Awards. 

 

 

 

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

Continue Reading

iGaming

LIVE GAMES PROVIDER TVBET PARTNERS WITH DIGITAIN

Published

on


Image credit: Digitain

Live games provider TVBET has announced a partnership with sportsbook and casino provider Digitain.

Digitain customers will now be able to integrated all eleven of TVBET’s streamed products, inlucing Poker, Keno, Backgammon, 1Bet, WheelbBet and other games.

Commenting on the partnership CEO of TBVET, Peter Korpusenko, said:

“Due to the current situation – non-sports gaming products are delivering remarkable performances – and therefore TVBET are making every effort to provide their products globally to first-class operators, such as Digitain. We at TVBET are thrilled to start working with the Digitain team to ensure that their customers receive the best possible streaming products.”

 

While Head of External Communication for Digitain, Samvel Mkrtumyan, added:

“Thanks to their great skill and experience in producing specialized live gaming products, more and more market participants are choosing TVBET. We are delighted to be able to offer our clients TVBET’s high-quality, highly entertaining products at these challenging times. The quality of their streaming and also the flexibility of their promotional engine make this a great opportunity for our clients and their customers.”

 

Launched in 2016, TVBET now delivers live streaming products to more than 130 partners around the world, and its gaming platform is GLI-certified, ensuring full randomness and transparency. 

Staying with Digitain, last the company announced it was sponsoring the upcoming SiGMA Asia and SiGMA Deeptech virtual conferences. 

 

 

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

Continue Reading

iGaming

RED TIGER INCREASES SPANISH PAWPRINT WITH 888CASINO.ES

Published

on

Red Tiger slots have gone live with 888casino.es in the Spanish market. 

A wide range of titles from the NetEnt-owned provider have gone live with the operator, including Mystery Reels, Dragon’s Fire MegaWays and Pirates’ Plenty – Battle for Gold, with more set to follow shortly. 

The partnership also gives 888casino.es access to Red Tiger’s local Daily Jackpots. 

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

“We’re thrilled to launch with 888casino.es, a hugely popular online casino with an impressive track-record and extensive player reach.

“Spain is a dynamic territory with exciting commercial prospects, and this move continues our ambition of being the leading supplier in every regulated market.”

 

While SVP Head of B2C at 888, Guy Cohen, added:

“We are focused on offering our customers a wide portfolio of games to ensure we are giving the best and most entertaining experience.

“We are delighted to have Red Tiger games on our platform and are excited to offer our Spanish customers their titles.”

 

Staying with Red Tiger, last month we reported the brand had partnered with Malta-based EnergyCasino, while in March, parent company NetEnt had announced redundancies in Sweden and Malta as it accelerated synergies with Red Tiger. 

 

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

Continue Reading

iGaming

SCIENTIFIC GAMES BOOTS FANTASY OFFERING WITH FSI INTEGRATION

Published

on

UK and Greece-based FSI (Fantasy Sports Interactive) has announced a strategic partnership with Scientific Games.

The deal will see FSI provide its original Fantasy Sportsbook offerings to Scientific Games’ global customer network, through the integration of FSI’s proprietary software into its OpenMarket™ sports content offering. 

FSI will be providing its platform of Fantasy Sportsbook solutions and original Fantasy Sports/Daily Fantasy Sports products, to be integrated and distributed as a whole, or as separate standalone solutions, depending on operators’ needs. 

FSI says its Fantasy Suit and products will serve as a diverse skill gaming and betting addition to Scientific Games’ multi-faceted iGaming portfolio, complete with cross-selling, user-engagement and acquisition tools, plus unique fantasy betting markets that will elevate standard sportsbooks. 

All of FSI’s offerings are based on its native fantasy scoring system and exclusive fantasy odds feed, which will also be distributed separately to Scientific Games for further use. The Sportsbook suit, Fixed-Odds-Fantasy, is the first Fantasy Sportsbook featuring fantasy odds feed generated by an original AI-based fantasy odds generation algorithm. 

Discussing the partnership Fantasy Sports Interactive CEO, Dennis Tsalikis, said:

“We are proud and excited to enter a partnership with the world’s leading digital gaming supplier. We look forward to working closely together to reach a global, quality audience with FSI’s exclusive, engaging products, and we are certain this will be a fruitful collaboration that will yield positive results for both companies and the iGaming industry as a whole.”

 

While SVP Sportsbook, Digital for Scientific Games, Keith O’Loughlin, added:

“Partnering with Fantasy Sports Interactive is an important move as we continue to bolster our content offering with OpenMarket™. Sportsbooks can now seamlessly expand their portfolio with FSI’s innovative range of fantasy sports products through OpenMarket, with the sports betting content aggregation platform providing quick access to such exciting content.”

 

 

AYO.NEWS says:

After years of being a predominantly North American phenomenon, fantasy sports finally seems to be gaining traction in other markets, notably Europe, and could be a key tool in helping re-engage customers with sports betting in the post-COVID-19 era. 

Staying with Scientific Games, a couple of weeks ago the company announced the appointment of Michael Eklund as its new CFO. 

 

 

‘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

Continue Reading

iGaming

WORLDMATCH PARTNERS WITH SLOTS PLUS IN ITALIAN MARKET

Published

on

Milan-based slot game developer WorldMatch has signed an agreement with Signorbet.it, the online brand of Slots Plus Srl. 

Signorbet will be launching the first tranche of 40 online slots from WorldMatch in mid-June. 

Commenting on the partnership CEO of WorldMatch, Andrea Boratto, said:

“We are pleased with this new milestone and we look forward to the important collaboration with Signorbet that will allow us to reach new players.”

 

While Domenico Distante from Signorbet added:

“WorldMatch is the right partner to add quality and assortment to our online casino offer, and even at such a difficult period for the entire industry, we are always looking for new partnerships to invest in the future of our brand.”

 

Founded in 2000, WorldMatch develops slots, roulette games, table games, and video poker. Its catalgoue includes games like Goodluck Hot Pot, Alien Domination, Magic Moon Palace, and Big Grizzly.

 

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

Continue Reading

iGaming

ENTERACTIVE LAUNCHES LOCALISED (RE)ACTIVATION CLOUD™ IN JAPAN

Published

on


Image credit: Enteractive

Malta-based player reactivation and retention specialist Enteractive has launched its (Re)Activation Cloud plug-and-play solution in Japan.

The company says its entry into the burgeoning Asian market will enable Japanese brands to benefit from its personalised approach to player engagement, which is especially important in cultures like Japan, where great customer service is rewarded with brand loyalty, but there is little tolerance for failure. 

Designed to reactivate dormant and lapsed accounts, the company says its solution is driven by human interaction and personalised conversations on behalf of a brand, which brings empathy and a human touch to standard automated services.  

Discussing the launch country manager, Alex Nilsson, said:

“Following months of preparation, our Japan team is up and running with native language customer engagement and a deep understanding of local cultural narratives.

“Japan is different to any other market in which we operate, so we’re extremely proud of the way our diverse talent pool has quickly surmounted any challenges to such a defined local approach.”

 

While Enteractive founder and CEO, Mikael Hansson, added:

“We’re incredibly excited to launch in this new and fast-growing market. Japan offers so many opportunities for iGaming operators in 2020 and beyond, and now Enteractive is there to help them navigate uncharted waters with their most important assets – the players.

“Caring for our clients’ players is baked into our DNA at Enteractive, so our courteous approach is ideally suited for Japan’s cultural landscape. I believe this could become one of our biggest markets in terms of sales and net revenue within a couple of years.”

 

Enteractive is already well-established in European markets, with major clients including Betsson, GiG, and Kindred reporting its solution has increased conversion and retention, boosting player deposits and engagement. 

(Re)Activation Cloud is both GDPR and G4 compliant and features bespoke systems built for operator compliance and player protection. 

 

AYO.NEWS says:

From the types of games to style of customer service, the Japanese market demands a very different approach to Europe, so it’s critical to develop a local solution – and Enteractive seems to have done exactly that, so we’re sure it will be of value to operators looking to establish themselves in what can be a very lucrative market.  

 

‘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

Continue Reading

Trending


Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *