SBC has announced the launch of SBC Digital, a series of online conferences and product showcases dedicated to several of the betting and gaming industry’s most attractive regional markets. 

The series is the crucial third pillar of SBC’s services, sitting alongside the physical conferences and trade shows organised by SBC Events and the online news and print offerings of SBC Media. Together they provide a powerful platform to share industry knowledge and connect operators, suppliers and affiliates from key markets around the world.

SBC Digital’s 2021 events programme builds on the company’s successful 2020 online events series, which proved to be a hugely-effective way to keep the industry’s communication channels open throughout this most disrupted of years. In total, more than 30,000 delegates from operators, affiliates, regulators, suppliers, and the media used SBC’s 2020 digital events to learn, connect, and talk business.  

The new online events all feature high-level conference programmes with senior executives sharing invaluable insights into the nature of the opportunities available and how to take advantage of them, along with ideas for how to tackle that region’s greatest regulatory and technological challenges. 

Each event will feature an interactive product display area that offers selected companies a highly-effective way to showcase their latest innovations tailored to local markets, as well as a series of networking roundtables, a format that is proven to bring together people with shared business interests. 

In addition to the conferences and exhibitions, SBC Digital will stage the quarterly CasinoBeats Slots Festival. This product showcase enables games developers to display their latest titles in a playable format, allowing an audience of hundreds of online casino operators and leading affiliates from around the world to try them. 

The SBC Digital 2021 events series:

• SBC Digital India – 27 – 28 January 
• CasinoBeats Slots Festival – 4 February
• SBC Digital Italy – 17 February
• SBC Digital Latinoamérica – 2 – 3 March
• SBC Digital Africa – 30 – 31 March
• CasinoBeats Slots Festival – 21 April
• SBC Digital Payments – 29 April
• CasinoBeats Slots Festival – 20 July
• SBC Digital CIS – 14 October
• CasinoBeats Slots Festival – 18 November
• SBC Digital North America – 1 – 2 December 

Rasmus Sojmark, SBC’s CEO and Founder, said:

“The SBC Digital events series represents a great way for operators, affiliates and suppliers to share information about the best opportunities in specific regional markets, without having to commit to the time and expense of travel. 

“Each of the events will be a forum for senior executives with on-the-ground experience of local markets to exchange valuable insights and ideas with representatives of international operators. They will also provide a route for suppliers to build their presence in the region, and a simple way for stakeholders from across the betting and gaming industry to make new connections and talk business.”

For full details of sponsorship and exhibition opportunities at SBC Digital’s 2021 events, please contact sales@sbcgaming.com. 

The CasinoBeats Summit 2021 conference and exhibition in Malta has been moved to the new dates of 18-20 May and will now run in an integrated live and online format.

CasinoBeats Summit is part of the Spring iGaming Week (SIW2021) programme of high-level industry business and networking events, set to be delivered jointly by SBC Events, KPMG Malta and GamingMalta.

SIW2021 was originally scheduled for March but, following consultations with partners and sponsors, has been put back two months to allow any remaining travel restrictions to ease. 

The week will offer senior igaming executives a series of valuable opportunities to learn, share information and make new connections, beginning with the KPMG Malta Gaming eSummit at the Westin Dragonara in St Julian’s on 18 May.

CasinoBeats Summit then takes centre stage over the following two days, as the InterContinental in St Julian’s hosts an audience of 750 people for a senior executive-level conference featuring some of the online casino industry’s biggest names and an exhibition showcasing the latest games and products. 

Delegates attending in person will also have access to a series of evening networking events in stylish venues, which provide ideal settings for informal conversations with business contacts. 

Online casino industry professionals unable to travel to Malta will be able to join CasinoBeats Summit remotely for a parallel virtual version of the event, featuring live-streamed conference content, online networking sessions, product presentations and a virtual visit to the exhibition. 

Whether attending at the venue or joining the event online, all CasinoBeats Summit delegates can look forward to an agenda that focuses on the slots, live casino and poker verticals. The content will deliver valuable insights on commercial, operational and regulatory issues for operators, affiliates, games studios, platform providers, and content aggregators. 

Outside the conference rooms, there will be a great opportunity to get a first look at the latest titles from both established and up-and-coming studios in the Games Showcase. The games presented will all be in contention for the CasinoBeats Game Developer Awards on 20 May.  

SBC CEO & Founder, Rasmus Sojmark, said:

“We’re eager to stage physical events for the gaming industry again after a year without any, but we’re happy to wait a further two months to get things back underway as we now know the May dates will enable more delegates, partners and sponsors to attend the event.  

“CasinoBeats Summit and Spring iGaming Week in Malta will be a great way to return. Many of the world’s leading igaming companies are based on the island, so we can guarantee an outstanding line-up of senior executive speakers and an audience to match, along with some fantastic entries for the first ever Game Developer Awards.” 

To find out more about CasinoBeats Summit 2021, please visit the event’s official website. 

For details about sponsorship and exhibition opportunities, please contact sales@sbcgaming.com.

i3 Interactive Inc., has announced further investment exploration in India, following early market entry success with the acquisition, rebrand, and relaunch of BLITZPOKER. 

The Canada-based company says it has decided to accelerate its plans to capitalise on the rapidly growing online gaming market in India, and will be building out a gaming ecosystem. According to Statista figures quoted by i3, India had 365 million online gamers in financial year 2020, with the market expected to grow to 510 million by 2022. 

Expanding on its poker offering, the company says it has identified several exciting opportunities for investment, including fantasy, rummy, quiz, and esports. 

600,000 common share purchase warrants have been issued to arm’s length consultants, as consideration for capital market advisory services, with each warrant exercisable into one common share of the Company at a price of $0.25 per share for a period of two years. 

i3 Interactive Inc, currently operates the BlitzBet, Line Movement, and BlitzPoker brands. As reported in August, it has partnered with Dan Bilzerian and other celebrities and influencers in an attempt to differentiate itself from its competitors. 

AYO.NEWS says:

As we’ve said many times over the past two years, with a rapidly growing, enthusiastic, tech savvy, competitively minded, and largely English-speaking young population, India represents an incredible opportunity for companies willing to invest despite regulatory uncertainty. 

You heard that right! #DanBilzerian is here to make your day special on his birthday and its upon you to grab the opportunity.
Simply deposit a minimum of 50 Rs. between 5th Dec to 7th Dec, 7PM to be eligible for entering The 100K INR Happy Birthday Dan #Freeroll #Tournament! pic.twitter.com/B15eabWbcf

— BLITZPOKER (@Blitzpoker_in) December 6, 2020

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Malta-based casino game developer Swintt is closing off 2020 by unveiling a mobile-first live dealer product, SwinttLive – powered by Playgon™.

According to the company, SwinttLive has been designed to be lightning quick and boast extensive functionalities, while being optimised for one-handed play in portrait mode. 

From launch, which is said to be imminent, payers will be able to enjoy both American and European Roulette, Blackjack, and Baccarat – including the popular Tiger Bonus Baccarat variant. 

SwinttLive will be available to operators via a unified API integration, that also incorporates Swintt’s wider product portfolio, including specialist slot content for key markets and engagement and gamification tools. 

Discussing the new product, Chief Commercial Officer at Swintt, David Mann, said:

“We are thrilled to expand our product suite with a state-of-the-art Live Dealer product and continue to offer our partners the very best in gaming content. This marks another huge step for Swintt as we drive forward to offering a complete gaming solution that tailor fits all our partners’ needs.”

While CEO of Playgon, Darcy Krogh, added:

“It is important to us to partner with a company who are ambitious, forward-thinking, and will greatly expand the reach of our Vegas Lounge® Live Dealer product. Swintt ticked all of our boxes and knowing what they are achieving in the market, and will continue to achieve, made this partnership a win-win for both businesses.” 

Staying with Swintt, just last week the company announced a partnership with former footballer,turned Hollywood hardman, Vinnie Jones.

AYO.NEWS says:

With the COVID-19 crisis repeatedly shutting down land-based casino venues across the world, and no sign of the pandemic going away any time soon, the demand for live dealer online casino games is booming, so this seems like great timing from Swintt, and we’re sure it will help get the company noticed in 2021. 

‘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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iGaming aggregator and supplier Relax Gaming has launched across Hurricane Global Group’s recently acquired online casino brand, DuxCasino. 

The operator can now offer leading games from Relax’s extensive selection casino content, including its growing in-house portfolio which includes games like Temple Tumble, Snake Arena, and Money Train 2, at DuxCasino. An extensive range of third-party aggregated content, including popular titles from Big Time Gaming, ReelPlay, and 4ThePlayer, are also available through Relax’s platform. 

The deal with Hurricane Global Group, which operates in multiple jurisdictions around the world, caps off a year which has seen Relax Gaming significantly expand its customer base and international reach. Growth has been partly driven through continued diversification, and localised content from selected suppliers under its Silver Bullet and Powered by Relax distribution programs. 

Commenting on the partnership CCO at Relax Gaming, Daniel Eskola, said:

“The diversity of brands we partner with is testament to the variety of content offered through our platform and our ability to meet the needs of international operators like Hurricane Global through localisation and quality.

“It’s great to be working with a like-minded, ambitious online casino that has global influence as we continue to expand in regulated markets worldwide.”

While a spokesperson for Hurricane Global added:

“The major draw of Relax’s portfolio is the choice it offers players and the speed at which we have been able to integrate a huge variety of quality games that have wide-ranging appeal.

“Their approach to business and integration has been close to flawless and we’re looking forward to a strong partnership that will bring continued commercial value for both our companies.”

Hurricane Global is a mobile-first holding company based in Cyprus and Malta. Its core assets are: The Hurricane Global Operation, Hurricane Global Ventures, and strategic partner, the Chilli Partners affiliate network. 

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The General Worker’s Union – Malta (GWU), and Evolution Gaming Group have reached an agreement over redundancies following the company’s acquisition of NetEnt.  

After negotiations, the GWU managed to secure an improved severance offer for those NetEnt employees facing redundancy, and Evolution has agreed to offer 40 staff alternative employment. A further 60 workers are expected to be taken on by other gaming and financial services operators in Malta. 

The GWU, which represents the majority of NetEnt’s employees in Malta, had filed an application before Malta’s Superior Courts, requesting an injunction to prevent the company from proceeding with any redundancies or terminations. The First Hall, Civil Court, provisionally accepted the injunction. 

The improved severance package will see each applicable employee get an extra €750, while there will also be more help for employees currently on maternity leave and regarding the availability of the company’s health benefits. Affected GWU members overwhelmingly approved the new severance package proposals. 

Commenting on the process GWU Secretary General, Josef Bugeja, said:

“We negotiated intensely and with determination. We saved jobs to the extent that this was possible. We ensured that all those who are being let go are suitably compensated.” 

Bugeja went on to thank Evolution CEO Martin Carlsund, and company legal advisor Paul Gonzi for their assistance in reaching an agreement. The GWU has now withdrawn its court injunction, and the industrial dispute is considered resolved.  

AYO.NEWS says:

All things considered, this is the best outcome that anyone could realistically have hoped for. As we’ve said before, any protracted dispute could have been very damaging for the gaming industry in Malta – something that the country absolutely cannot afford given the ongoing COVID-19 crisis which has utterly decimated many other areas of the economy, especially the vitally important tourist sector. 

We wish the best of luck to all those affected, and are sure many more will find alternative employment with other operators. 

‘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.