This week’s SBC Digital Italy conference and exhibition is set to deliver a timely and in-depth analysis of the latest developments in one of Europe’s largest betting and gaming markets. 

The online event on Wednesday 17 February will bring together 750 executives from the Italian gambling industry to exchange ideas about the future of the sector at this time of both great uncertainty and great opportunity.

Italy’s popular retail betting outlets and slots halls continue to take a huge financial hit from enforced Coronavirus-related closures, while the change of government and the tough regulatory regime has created further doubts about the prospects for operators.

However, the online sector has provided a reason to believe that the Italian market continues to offer significant growth opportunities, as a surge in the popularity of igaming led a 45% increase in online GGR in 2020. 

The agenda for SBC Digital Italy focuses on tackling the challenges faced by the industry, as well as how to build on the current favourable conditions for online gaming and achieve long-term success.

Pietro Lechiara, Betsson Group’s Managing Director Italy and a speaker at the event, said:

“The online gaming industry is undergoing a deep and most interesting transformation. At SBC Digital Italy you can learn about this transformation from the players who are driving this change.”

The agenda includes panels dedicated to regulation and the prospect of further legislation being introduced, the igaming opportunity, adapting slots to the Italian audience, and effective marketing strategies within the current advertising restrictions.  

There is also a fireside chat about the future of the industry in Italy with Fabio Schiavolin (CEO, SNAITECH) and Quirino Mancini (Partner, Tonucci & Partners), who are just two of the 25 high-level Italian market experts taking part in the conference.

The other senior executives and specialists on the speaker line-up include Carlo Di Maio (MD Betting Division, Gamenet Group), Alexander Martin (CEO, SKS365), Marco Castaldo (CEO, Microgame & Director for Betting & Online Gaming, ASTRO), Ludovico Calvi (Board Director, Lottomatica Betting Ltd & President, GLMS), Alessandro Grasso (COO, E-Play24), Natalie Berenato (Head of Online Marketing, Olybet Italia), and Cristiano Azzolini Di Maggio (Head of Casino, Signorbet.it).

Rasmus Sojmark, Founder and CEO of SBC, said:

“We’re excited to be hosting our first event fully dedicated to Italy, which continues to be one of the most important markets for the European betting and gaming industry. 

“It is also a highly complex market, which is in the midst of the transition that so many industries have had to face, as customers increasingly move online. The situation is further complicated by regulatory and COVID-related challenges, but our expert panelists will provide more clarity on the future direction of the industry and a host of valuable ideas about the best emerging opportunities for operators and suppliers.” 

In addition to the panel sessions, delegates can take in market commentaries on payments, virtual sports, and esports from Mark Sperring (Head Of Sales and Account Management, MuchBetter), Giuseppe Donato (Country Manager Italy, Kiron Interactive), and Paolo Cisaria (General Manager & CRO, Mkers Srl) respectively. 

The interactive product display area will allow attendees to connect with suppliers and media brands with offerings tailored to the Italian market, while there will be a further chance to meet new business contacts in a networking roundtable hosted by Alessio Crisantemi, Direttore Responsabile of GiocoNews.

For further information about the event and to register for free, please visit the official SBC Digital Italy website.

Leading gaming and sports betting partner GAMING1 has launched its latest Chinese New Year-themed slot game, Astro The Great Race.

Long ago, before there was a Chinese zodiac, the Jade Emperor wanted to select 12 animals to be his guards. He sent an immortal being into man’s world to spread the message of the race to the Heavenly Gate, and this is where The Great Race originated.

Arriving just in time for the annual festival, the five-reel title invites players to take part in a frantic race between all the animals of the Chinese zodiac, where crossing the finish line guarantees the player eternal glory, free spins and impressive rewards.

Astro The Great Race features 99 Ways to Win and provides up to 10 unique bonuses that players can win, each bringing its own set of surprises and rewards.

The Bonus features are triggered as the player moves around the trail surrounding the game, with winning spins unlocking multipliers, reel re-spins, bonus wheels and free games.

Commenting on the launch, GAMING1 COO, Sylvain Boniver, said: 

“We are delighted to announce the launch of Astro The Great Race in perfect time for the Chinese New Year.

“The slot is the latest to join our immersive gaming suite, following hot on the heels of the smash-hit titles that we released over the course of the past year. With a number of exciting launches still in the pipeline, we hope to carry this success into the coming months.”

Astro The Great Race marks GAMING1’s most recent addition to its widely renowned in-house catalogue, containing more than 120 thrilling slots, dice and table games – played in regulated markets across the globe.

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Yggdrasil, the leading worldwide publisher of online gambling content, invites players to a thrilling Wild West adventure in Big Bucks Bandits Megaways™.

Developed by YG Masters studio partner ReelPlay, the game brings players to the frontiers of the Wild West for a nail-biting stand-off duel between gun slingers pursuing big bounty.

Big Bucks Bandits Megaways™ provides 117,649 ways to win with a string of additional reaction wins and features offering rewards of up to 10,000x the bet.

The Jackpot Heist Respin is triggered when six or more scatter symbols land and rewards three respins. When new scatter symbols appear they are held, and the respins count is reset. Upon completion of respins, each scatter symbol awards a prize or a jackpot.

The Double Cross Gamble feature allows players to gamble their winnings to multiply the total win by up to 5x. Players can choose to collect their winnings at any time or gamble to advance to the next multiplier.

The Trophy Jackpots feature offers multiple jackpots levels with the Platinum pot awarding 1,000x a player’s bet.

Big Bucks Bandits Megaways™ is Reel Play’s third title developed through the YG Masters program following the successful launch of Atlantis Megaways™ in December 2020 and recently-released Giza Infinity Reels™.

The game has been built using Yggdrasil’s innovative GATI technology. Utilised by all YG Masters partners, this technology allows developers to employ the preconfigured, regulation-ready, standardised development toolkit to produce consistently cutting-edge content.

Rapid circulation across Yggdrasil’s distribution network enables all YG Masters partners to scale and fast-track their global growth strategies.

Stuart McCarthy, Head of Partner Programs at Yggdrasil, said: 

“Big Bucks Bandits Megaways™ offers players great excitement with its proven Western theme, refined game features and massive win potential.

“Featuring the successful Megaways™ mechanic, the game is for players who are willing to take risks for a larger reward and is a great addition to our expanding YG Masters portfolio.”

David Johnson, CCO at ReelPlay, said: 

“With this title we are introducing an enhanced Jackpot Respins mechanic which is very popular with land-based players, on top of the Megaways™ mechanic that has taken the online industry by storm.

“This is ReelPlay’s third title released through the YG Masters program in as any months and we are extremely pleased with how quickly we can build and distribute new games. We look forward to developing our partnership with Yggdrasil.”

Staying with Yggdrasil, last week the company announced a distribution deal with High 5 Games, covering several European territories.

New venture capital fund Yolo Investments has launched a gaming and fin-tech sub-fund, and is now searching for investment opportunities across the gaming and financial verticals.

The main fund – Yolo Investments, launched by Tim Heath in 2020 – assumes all the assets and holdings of the previous fund, Vereeni Investments. This includes investments in more than 50 companies, split across four funds, with an AUM of more than €200 million.

Yolo’s new sub-fund is focused on seed- and A-stage investment opportunities across gaming and fintech. Previous investments include casino content studios OneTouch and Green Jade Games, fintech disruptors coins.io, Credis Bank and Yeahka, and new live casino concept the Bombay Club.

Tim Heath, who until last year was CEO of the Coingaming Group, had invested the last couple of years in gradually stepping away from operationally managing the existing crypto-casino and sports betting operator he founded 10 years ago, to fully dedicating the time and effort to set up Yolo Investments as a licensed venture capital entity.

Alongside Heath, Julian Buhagiar, Steve Tsao and Ragnar Toompere will be General Partners in the Fund, whilst Jaan Lainurm and Maarja Pärt will sit on the board.

Although still relatively new in the VC space, Yolo Investments recently announced its first successful exit, notably a 6x return on its investment in Estonia-based gaming operator Coolbet – which was acquired by GAN Limited in December, as well as a successful public floatation on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange of one of its fintech assets.

The IPO and exit of Yeahka – a leading payment-based technology platform in China providing payment and business services to merchants and consumers, has continued to raise awareness surrounding the increase in numerous Asia-Pacific based unicorns in the fin-tech space.

Tim Heath, GP at Yolo Investments, said:

“These new sub-funds in Yolo Investments will continue the fantastic work of Vereeni Investments over the last couple of years. We have already assembled a diverse portfolio of high-growth companies across gaming and fintech and are now looking to build specialised sub-funds to specifically focus on these verticals. 

“As well as capital, we are now in a position to provide significant upside to our investments via our network.  With more than €200 million AUM, we are actively searching for disruptive businesses to which we can add value and open for investment from Limited Partners.”

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2019-2021.

Lithuania-based slots developer MrSlotty has entered a content exchange agreement with Game Aggregation Platform (GAP) provider Salsa Technology. 

The deal will see MrSlotty’s catalogue of HTML5 and HD video slots made available to Salsa Technology’s clients through a single integration. Titles covered by the deal include the popular WildVegas, Super Dragons Fire, and Dracula’s Gems. 

As part of the collaboration, Salsa Technology’s library of casino content, including titles like Cuca’s Swamp Bingo, Jogo dos Bichos Praia, and Pile It Up, will also be integrated into the MrSlotty GameHub aggregating platform. 

Commenting on the deal Salsa Technology CEO, Peter Nolte, said:

“We’re always looking to diversify our GAP offering and MrSlotty’s entertaining content is an ideal fit for us. MrSlotty’s GameHub gives us a fantastic opportunity to increase exposure for our games.”

While MrSlotty CEO, Anatoliy Peev, added:

“We’re thrilled to add Salsa Technology’s strong portfolio of titles to our GameHub and welcome them to our stable of partners. Our games will be a great addition to Salsa’s GAP as we look to expand our reach across the global market.”

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UK-based casino content developer Realistic Games has teamed up with online bookmaker and casino operator BetVictor to create an exclusive Fulham FC-themed slot game.

BetVictor is Main Team Partner of Fulham FC, which plays in the English Premier League, with its branding featured on the club’s men’s and women’s first team shirts, and now also on the new 3×3 slot. .

Realistic Games says it has designed the new slot with a volatility that makes it intuitive to pick up and play, with the Free Games Bonus Round kicking-in when a combination of two football symbols and a Fulham FC Crest appear on any win line. 10 Free Spins plus Total Bet x2 are then awarded to the player, who can generate wins of up to 250x the bet. 

Regarding the new game Commercial Director at Realistic Games, Robert Lee, said:

“As always, it’s been a pleasure to collaborate with BetVictor on this exclusive new title and we’re honoured to have been selected to work on the game’s development. The gameplay is perfectly designed for all players but is sure to hit the back of the net with any Fulham fans out there.”

While Head of Commercial at BetVictor, Sergiu Turcut, added:

“We are delighted by Realistic`s professionalism and skill in delivering this slot, which perfectly embeds BetVictor`s collaboration with Fulham FC in a classic 3×3. The end result is an enjoyable game, dedicated to Fulham fans but also appealing to any classic slot lover.”

Staying with Realistic Games, last month the company expanded its reach in key European markets through a partnership with online betting operator Lottoland. 

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2019-2021.