Bragg Gaming Group’s ORYX Gaming is entering the Bulgarian online slots market through a partnership with local operator Palms Bet. 

Palms Bet has been operating in Bulgaria for more than six years, and now offers over 240 casino games, alongside an extensive sportsbook and unique loyalty program. 

The deal will also see content from ORYX’s premium platform partner, Gamomat Games, go live with Palms Bet, via ORYX Hub.Gamomat Games offers more than 100 titles exclusive to ORYX, with unique in-game features and side-game jackpots, including Crystal Ball, Fancy Fruits, and Ramses Book. 

Palms Bet will also enjoy access to ORYX’s Player Engagement Platform, In-Game Tournaments, and Leaderboards tools, to help the operator grow gaming activity, and improve player engagement, conversion and retention. 

Commenting on the partnership Managing Director of ORYX Gaming, Matevz Mazij, said:

“Launching the first client in Bulgaria is an important step for us as we continue to focus on expanding across several strategic regulated markets.

“We are excited about entering this promising market and we look forward to working together with Palms Bet to offer local players entertaining and engaging casino content.”

While General Manager Sports Betting and Casino Slots at Palms Bet, Roman Dimitrov, added:

“We are constantly looking to expand our existing offering with proven titles that offer our customers a fun experience.

“By partnering with ORYX, we get access to a wide portfolio of Gamomat’s leading games and we are thrilled to be the first operator in Bulgaria to launch the content.”

Staying with ORYX, last month the company expanded its reach through a partnership with 888.com.

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Australia is set to block more illegal offshore gambling websites.

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) will be requesting internet service providers (ISPs) to block a number of additional gambling websites, including Planet 7 Oz, Ace Pokies, Nordicasino, Reeltastic, Spintropolis, Enzo Casino, Times Square Casino, and Royal Spinz. 

ACMA began investigating the aforementioned sites after receiving complaints about the operators treating players poorly and withholding winnings. It concluded the sites were operating in breach of the Interactive Gambling Act 2001.

In July ACMA ordered Australian ISPs to block 11 offshore gambling sites; Happy Hugo, Mucho Vegas Casino, Kahuna Casino, Rich Casino, Box 24 Casino, Bondi Bet, JokaRoom, Omni Slots, Fruits 4 Real, XPokies, and Slottica.  

ACMA says that more than 100 illegal gambling services have pulled out of the Australian market since it started enforcing new offshore gambling rules in 2017. 

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SBC Summit Barcelona – Digital will feature the strongest betting and gaming industry speaker line-up of 2020, with Carsten Koerl (CEO, Sportradar), Tim Heath (CEO Coingaming Group), Paris Smith (CEO, Pinnacle) and Giovanni Garrisi (CEO, Stanleybet Group) among the 200 senior executives set to share valuable insights and ideas. 

The virtual event, which takes place on 8 -11 September 2020, consists of four main zones – Sports Betting, Casino & Gaming, Payments & Compliance, and Affiliate & Marketing – each of which has tailored conference content, skills workshops, themed networking roundtables, and a display of the latest innovations from leading suppliers. 

There is also a dedicated Media & Partner Zone where delegates can catch up with the industry’s leading publications and organisations. SBC has also set up a virtual Press Conference Room to allow companies to promote their marketing messages.

The conference element of each main zone has an expert speaker line-up consisting of senior executives from major operators in markets around the world, along with regulators, affiliates, suppliers, and specialists from the worlds of technology, marketing and safer gambling. 

Rasmus Sojmark, CEO and Founder of SBC, said:

“This is one of the highest level speaker line-ups ever compiled for a betting and gaming industry conference, either physical or virtual.

“Delegates can look forward to learning from the most influential people in the industry, as they share ideas that will shape the future of all the main verticals and major established markets. The roster also includes a great selection of speakers with experience of working in emerging markets, who will detail some of the most exciting growth opportunities for both operators and suppliers.”

Sports Betting

The speaker roster for the Sports Betting Zone features the CEOs of market-leading international operators. Among those joining Smith and Garrisi are Interwetten’s Dominik Beier, BetFirst’s Alexis Murphy, MaxBet’s Minja Bolesnikov, Coolbet’s Anders Karlsen, Zamba’s Rodrigo Afanador, Pixel.bet’s Eirik Kristiansen, Fitzdares’ William Woodhams and JD Duarte of Betcris. 

Alongside the CEOs on the agenda are a selection of other senior operator representatives, such as Joe Lee (Head of GB&I, Paddy Power Betfair), Matt Scarrott (Sportsbook Director, BetVictor),  Maxim Afanasyev (CPO, Ligastavok), Tyrone Dobbin (Managing Director, Sportingbet South Africa), Andre Gelfi (Managing Partner Brazil, Betsson Group), Lenin Castillo (Online COO, Logrand Entertainment Group), Fernanda Sainz (CMO LatAm, Caliente Interactive), Hugo Llanos (COO, Wplay) and Richard Schwartz (President, Rush Street Interactive). Additionally, the line-up includes numerous technology specialists, such as Raja B-Sheikh (Director of Product, GVC), Aris Dimarakis (CTO, Kaizen Gaming) Grigory Bakunov (CTO, Parimatch), Alexey Khobot (CTO, Fonbet), and Zeno Ossko (COO, BetWarrior).

Lottery

There is also a strong line-up of lottery speakers, including Niels Erik Folmann (CEO, Danske Spil), Marko Stokuca (Deputy Director of the Gaming and Game Development Division, Hrvatska Lutrija), Søren Schneider (Director of Product Management, Danske Spil), Sam Depoortere (Sportsbook Director, Nederlandse Loterij), Gilles Maillet (Director of Sports Integrity, FDJ), Jens Nielsen (Sportsbook Director, Danske Spil), Tay Boon Khai (Chief Risk & Compliance Officer, Singapore Pools), Arno de Jong (CMO, Nederlandse Loterij) and GLMS President Ludovico Calvi. 

Suppliers

Adding to the insights of the betting operators are a host of major suppliers, including Sportradar’s Koerl, Delasport CEO Avi Shemesh, Altenar COO Dinos Stranomitis, Kambi’s Head Sportsbook Controller Oliver Lamb, SportCaller Managing Director Cillian Barry, Xtremepush CEO Tommy Kearns, PinProjekt COO Vedran Katic, and BetInvest Head of Business Development Oleksandra Kalchuk. There will also be input from the worlds of professional sports and media, with Kuljeet Sindhar (Senior Director, International Fantasy & Gaming, NBA), Matthias Kirschenhofer (Chief Officer Legal & Finance, Sport1 Medien AG), and Simon Schleich (Managing Director, e|motion sports) among the speakers. 

Casino & Gaming

The Casino & Gaming Zone brings together representatives from many of the world’s leading igaming operators to share insights about the future of online casino, slots and live casino. They include Ariel Reem (CEO, Genesis Global), Paul Fox (CEO, LeTou), Jeremy Taylor (Managing Director, Genting), Eric Olders (CEO, JVH Gaming), Tim De Borle (COO, Napoleon Sports & Casino), David Fernandez Martinez (MD Spain, Betsson), Jacqui Gatt (Director of Gaming, Casumo), Robin Eirik Reed (CEO, Ichiban Ventures), Bobby Garg (CEO & Co-Founder, Passion Gaming), Gali Hartuv (Head of VIP, 10Bet), Filip Berlikowski (CTO, Genesis Global) and Stefania Mincu (Head of Casino, Ellmount Interactive). 

Payments & Compliance

The Payments & Compliance Zone features an unrivalled line-up of operator payments specialists, including Coingaming Group’s Heath, David Foster (Head of Regulatory Affairs, GVC), Steven Armstrong (Group Director of AML, William Hill), Isabelle Deslisle (Global Head of Payment Solutions, Pinnacle), Lior Segal (Director of Payments, The Stars Group), David Williams (Director of Public Affairs, Rank Group), Ievgeniia Derbal (Head of Legal, Parimatch) and Thees Buschmann (Head of Compliance, Red Rhino). They will be joined by representatives of a number of leading suppliers, such as Beyza Orazova (Head of Sales iGaming, Dimoco), Andrea McGeachin (CCO, Neosurf) and Tiago Veiga (Head of Business Development, Aurum Solutions).  

Safer Gambling

It will also have a major focus on safer gambling, with a full content track dedicated to the issue. It will feature specialists such as Anna Hemmings (CEO, GamCare), Paul Buck (CEO, EPIC Risk Management), Matthew Hickey (Interim CEO, Gordon Moody Association), Adam Bradford (CEO, Safer Online Gambling), Kirsty Caldwell (Founder & Director, BetSmart Consulting) and Jason Shiers (Transformative Coach, UKAT), with operator input from Martin Lycka (Director of Regulatory Affairs, GVC), Jon Duffy (SVP, Corporate Assurance & Regulatory Affairs, Genting) and Maris Catania (Head of Responsible Gaming and Research, Kindred Group).

Affiliates & Marketing

The speakers in the Affiliate & Marketing Zone includes senior executives from many of the world’s leading affiliates, including Stuart Simms (CEO, XLMedia), Simon Pilkington (CEO, KaFe Rocks), Jonas Kyllonen (Co-Founder, Mr-Gamble), David da Silva (CEO, EasyOdds), Yaroslav Stanev (Head of Marketing, Oddspedia), Joaquín Gago (Founder, BetanDeal), Sue Dawson (Head of Content, FTD Digital) and Alessandro Valente (Founder, Super Afiliados).

The content will also include specialist input from Google’s Industry Head – Financial Trading and Egaming Chris Harrison and Spanish trade association Jdigital’s Director General Andrea Vota. They will be joined by a host of specialists from major operators, such as Dan Towse (Head of Brand, Marathonbet), Eitan Gorodetsky (Acquisition Director, Betsson Group), Lee Beirne (Head of SEO, Ladbrokes Coral), Alvaro González (Head of Marketing & Online, Retabet), Carlos González (E-gaming Manager, Marca Apuestas), Carmelo Mazza (CEO, OIA Services), Matthias Schuller (Managing Director, Run It Once) and Lisa Sjö-Rasmussen (SEO Product Specialist, Betsson Group). 

Further details, including the agenda, full line-up of 200 speakers and list of the 100 virtual exhibitors, are available from the official SBC Summit Barcelona – Digital website. 

To join the 10,000 delegates from around the world at the must-attend global betting and gaming show, click here to register for free. 

Malta-based online casino and sportsbook operator Casumo has fully acquired CasinoSecret. 

Casumo initially acquired 40% of CasinoSecret last year, and financial details of the deal to fully acquire the company have not been revealed. It is Casumo’s first acquisition. 

Also Malta-based and licensed, CasinoSecret was founded in 2018 and has created a gaming portfolio with a focus on customers experience and cashback features. 

Commenting on the news CasinoSecret CEO, Nadir Ounissi, said:

“Our ongoing drive to deliver the best online casino experience through innovation and high local relevance fits Casumo’s mission well. Together we now open new doors to shared expertise and exciting opportunities across the brands.”

While Casumo CEO, Shelly Suter-Hadad, added:

“We have developed an ambitious and exciting collaboration with the team at CasinoSecret, which made the merger a clear next step from all perspectives.

“The acquisition will enable us to further leverage the strong synergies and shared direction of both businesses, while taking our group portfolio to the next level.”

Casumo was founded in 2012 as an online casino, and expanded into sports betting in 2018, launching the Kambi sportsbook in the UK market. 

The operator increased its visibility in the UK market through a sponsorship deal with English Football League Championship club Reading FC, while its Dunder online casino brand also sponsored Bristol City.  

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What does the future hold for online slot games, and how do you market them to millennials? Plus, with Ukraine in the process of establishing a regulated online gaming market, what opportunities does the country offer?

Simona talks with Yanina Kaplya, Head of Marketing at Evoplay Entertainment, for an expert view from inside Ukraine.

You can find out more about Evoplay Entertainment at https://evoplay.games/

Online betting operator Parimatch has teamed up with Sector X, an acceleration hub and Ukraine’s largest platform connecting businesses with start-ups. 

The partners are searching for the next successful start-up in the entertainment tech space, and there’s up to $5 million USD funding available to access from JKR Investment Group. 

Start-ups selected for the acceleration hub program will gain access to support and mentorship from experts at Parimatch Tech and financial investment from JKR Investment Group, and will be given the opportunity to launch a pilot of their product or service. 

Participants will also receive support from the community of entrepreneurs and resources at UNIT.City Innovation Park, home to Sector X. 

The project is looking for start-ups in the following areas:

• Sports event forecast models
• Non-cash rates
• Online quizzes
• Online payments
• Innovations in online casino products
• Online poker and player identification tools
• Slots/side games
• Innovation and optimization of online rates
• Solutions for integrating statistical and news information on sporting events into a product with a focus on personalisation
• Risk management in both traditional and esports betting
• Match prediction and e-sports media resources; content projects, analytics tools CS : GO, Dota2, HLTV parsers, Liquipedia;
• Optimization of video delivery speed
• AR effects in video streams, virtual studios, video production
• Uploading statistics to video
• Computer-aided data acquisition solutions

Further details and instructions on how to apply can be found here: https://sectorx.city/ 

AYO.NEWS says:

With a functional regulated gambling market now in the process of being set up, plus a vibrant esports scene, Ukraine is a land of opportunity for start-ups right now (despite the obvious geopolitical threats and stability issues), and the nation has a strong entrepreneurial streak, so it will be interesting to see which start-ups get involved. 

Staying with Parimatch, earlier this month the operator was confirmed as official betting partner of the new Dota 2 OMEGA League esports series.  

‘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. 

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