Cherry AB subsidiary ComeOn Group has appointed former Addison Global CEO Juergen Reutter as its new Chief Executive Officer.

He succeeds former CEO Lahcene Merzoug, who announced his resignation from the company in October, to pursue ventures outside of the igaming sector. 

Reutter has over two decades of experience in digital commerce, business transformation, and product development, having held roles including Managing Director for sms.at mobile services (now DOCOMO Digital), CEO of bookmaker William Hill Online, and CEO and founder of Addison Global – the operating company of the now defunct MoPlay. 

Welcoming Reutter to the company, chairman of the ComeOn Group, Itai Freiberger, said:

“We are pleased to announce Juergen’s appointment as the new CEO of the ComeOn Group. Juergen is bringing over 20 years of digital experience and a wealth of industry expertise to the organisation.”

The last few years have seen significant changes at ComeOn, with the operator missing key growth targets in 2018, following its full acquisition by Cherry a year earlier. After a full review of its portfolio, the operator withdrew all of its brands from the UK market in 2019, and refocused efforts on less challenging jurisdictions.

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German developer and publisher of free-to-play social games Whow Games has partnered with casino supplier NetEnt. 

The deal means Whow Games’ Jackpot.de and myJackpot.com brands will have access to NetEnt’s full range of casino games, including popular slots like Starburst and Gonzo’s Quest. 

With the partnership, Whow Games has become the first social casino operator in Europe to give its players access to NetEnt’s offering in a free-to-play casino. 

Free-to-play social casinos offer operators the chance to expand their global footprint without restraint, and the companies will be working together on Whow Games’ social casino white label solution.

Commenting on the news Whow Games CEO, Philip Reisberger, said: 

“With NetEnt’s superb games catalogue, we strengthen our large portfolio of high-quality games and international appeal. We are pleased to welcome them to the Whow family and we look forward to working with them closely for many years.”

While NetEnt Malta MD, Henrik Fagerlund, added: 

“We are thrilled to provide the players of Whow Games’ and its white label partners’ casino brands with access to our exciting portfolio of interactive and sophisticated casino games. With this partnership, we expand our business into the area of social casinos and continue our success story.”

AYO.NEWS says:

Increasingly we’re seeing casino game suppliers embrace the idea of FTP and social casinos, both as a way to reach otherwise off-limits markets, and as a way to familiarise players with their offering prior to launch of real-money gaming. Will regulators eventually crack down on this ‘on-ramp’ to gambling? It seems likely. 

‘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.

Malta-based online casino game provider Swintt has announced a partnership with former footballer and Hollywood star Vinnie Jones. 

The collaboration will see a suite of casino games created, focusing on different elements of Jones’ life and persona. A percentage of the profits from the games will be donated to the Royal Brompton and Harefield Hospitals Charity – a cause that Jones passionately supports. 

After a high-profile football career that included winning the 1988 FA Cup, Jones went on to build a successful Hollywood career, starring in numerous blockbuster movies, including the X-Men franchise, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, and his latest film, The Big Ugly. 

The licensing agreement is being delivered in partnership with Easyodds.com, an international sports betting odds and online casino comparison site to which Jones regularly contributes content. 

Commenting on the news Swintt CEO, David Flynn, said:

“Vinnie is a true British icon and globally renowned actor, having been successful in both sports and cinema, and we’re thrilled to be able to produce a suite of content around his image. His dedication to charity and philanthropic work is inspiring, making him a perfect celebrity for Swintt to work with.”

While CEO at Easyodds, David da Silva, added:

“We’ve been working with Vinnie Jones all year and enjoyed sharing his unique perspective and personality with our users on Easyodds.com. It’s been a privilege to bring Vinnie together with Swintt to create unique casino games that will be great fun to play whilst supporting a fantastic good cause.”

AYO.NEWS says:

That’s a pretty major coup for the relatively new Swintt, and it’s going to be interesting to see what games result from the tie up. Of course, knowing that a percentage of profits from the games will be going to help a good cause is fantastic too – and maybe something more game studios and operators should consider, if only for the positive PR factor. 

Staying with Vinnie Jones and the gambling industry, tomorrow he will be one of the hosts of the SBC Awards 2020, along with Petr Cech and Kirsty Gallacher. 

‘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.

Malta-based Gaming Innovation Group (GiG) has signed a long-term agreement with an unnamed ‘large European media group.’ 

The deal will see GiG supply its iGaming platform, data platform, and managed services to the unspecified large European media house. The mystery media group will use GiG to power its iGaming offering under its own license, and will integrate a third party sportsbook. 

According to GiG, the partnership is based on a combination of fixed fees and revenue share, and has a minimum term of three years. 

The media house is expected to launch its online offering sometime in the first half of 2021, with further details on the partnership expected to be revealed during the first quarter. 

Commenting on the new GiG CEO, Richard Brown, said:

“Media group entries into iGaming are to be anticipated as online markets expand and locally regulate. Leveraging their media data, brands and advertising inventory access as well as direct access to core demographics, presents an attractive proposition. GiG is extremely proud to be supporting this market entry and is confident that it will be a successful partnership.”

AYO.NEWS says:

Gaming and sports betting are clearly  potentially lucrative revenue sources for large media groups – many of whom are currently seeing traditional advertising revenue fall alarmingly fast. However, given the anti-gambling climate in many countries, they will have to work hard to avoid PR disasters. 

Staying with established European media groups and betting, last month British operator BetVictor announced a partnership with Axel Springer SE, the publisher of Germany’s most popular newspaper, to launch new sports betting platform BildBet. 

‘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.

The General Workers Union Malta (GWUM) has declared an industrial dispute with NetEnt and Evolution over last week’s redundancies. 

In a statement, the GWUM said it was declaring the dispute due to the following:

1. The Companies’ failure to acknowledge the GWU as an employee representative for the purpose of collective redundancies  under the Collective Redundancies (Protection of Employment) Regulations.

2. The Companies’ refusal to provide the union with a statement in writing giving all relevant information, with the reasons for the redundancies, the number of employees the company intends to make redundant, the number of employees normally employed by it, the criteria proposed for the selection of the employees to be made redundant, details regarding any redundancy payments which are due and the period over which redundancies are to be effected.

3. The Companies’ wholesale breach of the Collective Redundancies (Protection of Employment) Regulations and the Transfer of Business (Protection of Employment) Regulations.

The union added that it reserved the right to take industrial action with immediate effect. Elaborating, it said that the measures had become necessary due to the “manifest unwillingness” of both NetEnt and Evolution to consult it. 

The news follows last week’s shock announcement that over 300 employees would be laid off in Malta, following NetEnt’s acquisition by Evolution. 

AYO.NEWS says:

This is a tough one. As we said last week, the timing of these redundancies is unfortunate, coming immediately before Christmas and during the COVID-19 employment crisis – but it was also entirely foreseeable.

Malta needs to think carefully about the long-term consequences of any industrial action. Both NetEnt and Evolution already have facilities around the world, and could very easily relocate operations. Plus, with so many markets now regulated, the Maltese license isn’t as valuable as it once was. 

Aside from tax rates, what really still makes Malta attractive to gaming companies is access to a relatively cheap, flexible, and skilled workforce (and, crucially, the ability to attract foreign workers to the island fairly easily). For some time the soaring cost of living has been making it harder to attract workers, and the COVID crisis has exacerbated that. If Malta now gets a reputation for industrial action, it may well cause many gaming operators to think twice about investing in the country. 

But, it is the season of goodwill, so maybe Evolution will step up, and do something to diffuse the dispute?

‘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.

RubyPlay has today announced the launch of their jolly new slot, Christmas Fortune.

A winter wonderland slot that is overflowing with Christmas cheer. From Santa himself to gifts, toys, ornaments and the beloved Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer, you can celebrate this festive holiday all year round with Christmas Fortune.

Christmas Fortune is a 5-reel slot that is brimming with festive symbols. Landing 6 Christmas ornaments triggers the Jackpot Mania, and if Santa thinks you are on the nice list, he may fill all the reels with ornaments, and the Grand Jackpot might just be yours. Collecting ornaments as you play fills the meter and when it’s full, you’ll be blessed with super ornaments that contain bigger prizes!

RubyPlay’s Chief Operating Officer Ittai Zur said:

“We couldn’t wait for one of our favourite holidays to bring you this game, and so we have created Christmas Fortune. Obviously I’m biased but I think it is one of the most Christmassy games on the market, and hopefully it helps to get people in the festive spirit!”

For more information on Christmas Fortune, go here. 

To stay up-to-date on all things RubyPlay you can follow them on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.