Online gaming solutions provider Yggdrasil has partnered with platform provider Microgame in Italy. 

The software licensing and reseller agreement will give Microgame’s 37+ operator partners access to 80 of Yggdrasil’s games from its portfolio, including the newly launched Multifly, Arthur’s Fortune and Lightning Joker, as well as the hugely successful Vikings trilogy and games developed through the pioneering YG Masters programme.

Operators will also be able to offer games featuring Yggdrasil’s ground-breaking Splitz™ mechanic, including the first two titles Temple Stacks: Splitz™ and Neon Rush: Splitz™, as well as the upcoming game Lucky Neko, introducing the supplier’s new Gigablox™ feature.

Microgame partners will also gain access to Yggdrasil’s in-game promotional tools BOOST™.

Commenting on the partnership CEO at Yggdrasil, Fredrik Elmqvist, said:

“Microgame is a leading platform supplier in Italy and through this partnership we will considerably expand our reach in the country together with its premium operator partners.

“Our games have already proven hugely successful with local players since we entered the market in 2017 and we are excited to be able to offer our portfolio to an even wider customer group together with Microgame.”

While CEO at Microgame, Marco Castaldo, added:

“By adding Yggdrasil’s leading content to our platform we will significantly enhance our offering with innovative and engaging titles that appeal to a wide demographic of players.

“Yggdrasil is one of the industry’s most prominent suppliers and we look forward to a successful partnership.”

Staying with Yggdrasil, last month the company announced a partnership with platform provider Digitain, and Tru Lab joined the YG Masters program.  

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The UK could be on the verge of banning all gambling advertising, and introducing strict new stake limits for online slots. 

The Gambling-Related Harm All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) has called for a ban on all gambling advertisement, including online, and a £2 stake limit for online slots. It has also recommended a ban on all VIP schemes, along with a review of deposit and prize limits. 

Regarding live in-play sports betting, the APPG has recommended the UK should follow Australia’s lead, and restrict it to venues and telephone betting only. 

Since March 2019 the APPG, which is made up of over 50 cross-party MPs and peers, has been investigating online gambling, holding 10 public evidence sessions and meetings with the Gambling Commission – which the APPG has slammed as “not fit for purpose.”

In its report, the APPG said the government should consider implementing short-term changes to the 2005 Gambling Act to ensure it is fit for the digital age. 

Commenting on the report, APPG chair, Carolyn Harris MP, said:

“This multi-million pound industry has destroyed people’s lives. They resist change at every turn and claim to be reforming themselves but put forward limited changes. We cannot ignore this any longer. Urgent change is needed to stop this industry riding roughshod over people’s lives.”

AYO.NEWS says:

Just like Shekarabi and co. in Sweden, it is now clear that politicians like Carolyn Harris are hell bent on an ideologically-driven crusade against gambling. As we’ve seen time and again in the UK, the small minded Nanny State cheerleaders like Harris are determined to ruin it for the majority, to protect a minority.

On the economic side of things, with the UK facing its worst recession in three hundred years, the government would do well to recognise the contribution the industry makes to the economy, and the absolute dependence of many sports clubs on gambling sponsorships. 

We’d say change is needed to stop politicians riding roughshod over people’s lives. 

‘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 player reactivation and retention specialist Enteractive has partnered with Hero Gaming. 

The deal will see Enteractive’s (Re)Activation Cloud deployed across Hero Gaming’s global portfolio of casino and sports betting brands, with a focus on both activating NRCs to NDCs and reactivating dormant player accounts. 

According to Enteractive, the integration of its (Re)Activation Cloud will allow its agents to “engage in one-on-one conversations with players over the phone, providing local expertise and unmatched customer engagement.”

Commenting on the partnership CCO of Hero Gaming, Sam Brown, said:

“We are excited about our new partnership with Enteractive and their (Re)Activation Cloud platform. We have already seen fantastic results in our core markets, and this is just the beginning of the journey. 

“As well as the obvious value of increased player activity, their highly skilled agents are also providing our business with vital qualitative feedback, to enhance the products and services we offer to our increasingly loyal customers.”

While Enteractive founder and CEO, Mikael Hansson, added:

“Hero Gaming is a massive operator, and we’re really excited to bring our customer engagement expertise to their multi-brand portfolio in various markets around the world.”

Hero Gaming brands include Casino Heroes, Speedy Casino, Speedy Bet, Simple Casino, Speedy Lotto, Boom Casino, and Speedy Spel.

Staying with Enteractive, earlier this month the company launched a localised version of its (Re)Activation Cloud in Japan. 

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The Swedish Gambling Authority (SGA) has launched a campaign to promote its Spelpaus.se self-exclusion service. 

Spelpaus.se has been running since the re-regulated Swedish gambling market launched on 1 January 2019, but the SGA says not enough players are aware of the service, especially considering the ongoing COVID-19 crisis.

The new campaign, which features seven different messages, spans television, websites, and social media, and will run for at least four weeks. 

Discussing the campaign SGA communications manager, Anders Sims, said:

“After just under a year, half of all players knew about Spelpaus.se. It’s good, but not good enough.

“With this investment, we mainly want to inform that Spelpaus.se exists, but also pay attention to people of different behaviours that can be a sign of gambling problems, for example that you are playing in secret.”

The awareness campaign comes as Swedish-license holders are fighting against planned new restrictions, including a SEK 5,000 weekly deposit limit for online casino games and slots, and a set time limit, which are set to come into force on 2 July and last until the end of 2020. 

AYO.NEWS says:

Only last week the ongoing Swedish drama took another turn, with local media reporting Minister for Public Administration, Ardalan Shekarabi, had been accused of lying about an increase in online gambling during the COVID-19 crisis to gain support for the emergency restrictions. 

Given that the COVID-19 crisis itself seems to be subsiding, at least as far as the first wave of infections is concerned, it seems ludicrous that the emergency restrictions are still set to be introduced in July. Again, it just confirms our suspicions that the whole thing is actually ideologically motivated, with anti-gambling politicians like Shekarabi taking advantage of the crisis to damage the industry. 

‘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

Online casino software and game developer Red Tiger has partnered with Belgium-licensed operator Napoleon. 

The deal means Napoleon’s players can now enjoy Red Tiger’s entire slot portfolio, including Piggy Riches MegaWays and Dynamite Riches. 

Napoleon has also joined Red Tiger’s Daily Drop Jackpots Network, enabling it to offer the NetEnt-owned provider’s popular daily and hourly jackpots to its players. 

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

“We are delighted to launch with Napoleon, Belgium’s foremost online casino.

“With over four decades of industry experience, the company has become synonymous with premium quality entertainment experiences, which is a perfect fit for our award-winning product suite.”

While Head of Casino at Napoleon, Nicolas Van Malderghem, added:

“Red Tiger is renowned for creating some of the most widely acclaimed titles on the market, so this agreement continues our track-record of giving players a diverse variety of immersive games to choose from.

“Red Tiger’s incredible catalogue further strengthens our engaging casino offering, in addition to the other engrossing slots, dice games, live casino and sports betting options on our platform.”

Staying with Red Tiger, last week the provider expanded its Spanish reach, going live with 888casino.es. 

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

CasinoBeats Malta Digital’s Future of Gaming track will see some of the leading lights of the igaming industry share their ideas about the next major developments in online casino, slots and poker, and how they will impact on both players and operators.

The virtual conference and exhibition takes place on 30 June – 2 July 2020, with the Future of Gaming content staged over the final two days and accompanied by a programme of themed networking events. 

Highlights of the track include the Leaders Panels that will open each day. On Wednesday, a session sponsored by ICS Digital will examine how operators adapted to the COVID-19 crisis and what opportunities emerged during the changed market conditions of recent months. Speakers include Mårten Forste (COO, LeoVegas) Petra Zackrisson (CCDO, Betano Stoiximan), Americo Loureiro (Director, Solverde) and Shelly Suter-Hadad (CEO, Casumo), with William Scott (Director, Warrenside) handling moderator’s duties. 

Thursday’s panel features a group of high-profile executives offering their insights on how to tackle the major challenges facing the gaming industry today and where the best long-term opportunities may lie. It features Pontus Lindwall (CEO & Founder, Betsson), Jesper Karrbrink (Chairman, Green Jade Games), Ariel Reem (CEO, Genesis Global) and Alexander Martin (CEO, SKS365), with Dinos Stranomitis (COO, Alternar) in the moderator’s chair. 

Stewart Darkin, Managing Director of CasinoBeats, said: 

“The gaming industry is evolving rapidly to keep pace with constantly changing player tastes and technological advances, and it can be difficult to stay up to date with all the latest developments.

“The high-level speakers on the Future of Gaming track will help CasinoBeats Malta Digital delegates to stay one step ahead, by sharing expert insights on the direction of the industry from the perspectives of major operators, games developers, platform suppliers and leading affiliates.” 

Other sessions on Wednesday include the Affiliate Leaders Panel sponsored by Intertops. It will see Fintan Costello (Managing Director, Bonusfinder.com) moderate a panel of Tobias Svensen (CEO, CasinoGrounds), Jonathan Edelshaim (CEO, Natural Intelligence), Hamish Brown (VP Casino, Catena Media) and Marcos Oliveira (Chief Affiliate Officer, Clever Advertising Group) as they examine how the changing regulatory climate will alter the way affiliates operate. 

The growing importance of casino platforms to the industry will be in the spotlight during the Platforms & Aggregators panel. Melvin Ritsema (MD, Royal Panda), Rui Pena (COO & Co-Founder, Darwin Interactive) and Stian Hornsletten, CCO of session sponsor EveryMatrix, will assess what the platforms’ influence on the market means for both games studios and operators. 

Concluding the Future of Gaming content for 1 July is Live Casino: At A Crossroads, which is sponsored by Pragmatic Play. A panel consisting of Jeremy Taylor (MD, Genting Online), Christos Mavridis (Live Casino Mgr, Stoiximan / Betano), Sam Brown (CCO, Hero Gaming) and Stefania Mincu (Head of Casino, Ellmount Interactive) will consider how the sector can develop new game concepts, cross sell to slots players and stay up to date emerging technologies. 

On Thursday, attention switches to Gamification, its future role in the online casino industry and whether it is of real value to operators. The panel features Ross Parkhill (MD, Rhino Entertainment), Andy Braithwaite (CCO, Scatters), Uri Admon (CEO, Captain Up) and David Flynn (CEO, Swintt), with Karolina Pelc (Strategic Advisor, Basic Strategy) chairing the discussion.

The resurgent Online Poker sector is the next part of the gaming ecosystem to face scrutiny, as Manuel Lopes (CEO, Pokio/Qufan Technology), Sergii Romanenko (COO, Pokerok) and Ivonne Montealegre (Event Director, Malta Poker Festival) look at how the game can sustain its popularity and become a profitable long-term proposition for operators. 

Concluding the track is Acquisition & Personalisation, which sees a panel including Assaf Stieglitz (Founder, Odds1x2.com) and Tal Itzhak Ron (Chairman & CEO, Tal Ron, Drihem & Co) outline the next generation of strategies for attracting and then optimising the lifetime value of players. 

The CasinoBeats Malta Digital agenda also includes tracks about Working in Malta, Technology & Innovation, Regulation & Compliance, and Payments. 

Away from the conference rooms, the 3,000 industry delegates will have multiple opportunities to make new contacts. In addition to the schedule of themed networking sessions, attendees can take part in workshops with sector experts, join in group discussions in the virtual networking bar or use the event platform’s chat facility for one-to-one conversations. 

There is also a 40-booth interactive exhibition showcasing the latest products from both leading suppliers and innovative start-ups, along with a programme of product presentations running throughout the event.  

Find full details of CasinoBeats Malta Digital, including information about how to register and the discounts available on company group passes, at the event’s official website. 

To find out more about exhibiting or to discuss the remaining sponsorship opportunities, please contact sales@sbcgaming.com.

AYO.NEWS says:

Though the gambling industry has been affected by the COVID-19 crisis, it has also been among the quickest to adapt (as evidenced by the CasinoBeats virtual conference itself), and there’s every reason to be excited about the future, so it will be fascinating to hear the thoughts of some of its most prominent leaders. 

‘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.