Gaming Innovation Group (GiG) has inked a long-term agreement with current partner PlayStar Casino, covering the provision of GiG’s iGaming platform to power the casino’s expansion into Pennsylvania. 

The deal, which is the second between GiG and PlayStar Casino, is based on a revenue share model and has a minimum duration of four years. Pennsylvania will represent the second US market entry for PlayStar Casino, after neighbouring New Jersey. 

PlayStar Casino is a privately owned company, founded and operated by industry pioneer Joel Wikell (founder of Boss Media, Readly, Blinto, and Hexigames), and co-founder and CBDO Adam Noble (formerly with Yggdrasil, and Play’n GO). 

PlayStar Casino also recently appointed Per Hellberg as CEO (formerly CEO at Catena Media, Readly, and Nordic Gaming Group), and Dan Alexander (formerly with Bet365, and Mansion Group), to strengthen its executive team. 

Per Hellberg, CEO of PlayStar Casino, said: “We are delighted to be partnering with GiG to power PlayStar’s expansion into Pennsylvania. With our preparations firmly underway for our New Jersey launch with GiG, it was a natural progression to leverage that work and replicate our casino offering over the border in Pennsylvania. This will mark the second market entrance for PlayStar in the USA with GiG and we’re looking forward to launching a casino experience like no other.”

Richard Brown, CEO of GiG, added: “We are very excited to continue our expansion into the third US state, in particular Pennsylvania that has shown a tremendous amount of growth in the iGaming market in a relatively short time period. We also believe the plans that PlayStar have with the customer centric and product driven approach connect very well with GiG’s B2B offering and strategy and we look forward to helping them achieve their ambitions.”

Pennsylvania is the United States’ second-largest iGaming market in terms of revenue. Full-year gaming revenue for 2020 released by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) shows gaming win from iGaming totaled $566 million (online casinos only went live in July of 2019) reflecting substantial growth and highlighting its future potential as a pivotal iGaming market.

iGaming and sports betting software provider SOFTSWISS has unveiled a new brand identity, which it says reflects its current position on the market, and its vision to be the global leader.

According to the company, the creation of the new SOFTSWISS brand identity “was based on the values and experience the brand acquired in over a decade on the market,” and includes a fresher, more contemporary look. 

The SOFTSWISS logo text will now be spelled in caps, as will be the brand name appearing in the company’s official press releases and marketing materials. 

SOFTSWISS initially launched in 2009 as a small software development startup with a handful of employees. Today it has grown into a leading international iGaming brand, and has more than 700 staff, with offices in Belarus, Malta, and Poland. 

In addition to an Online Casino Platform, SOFTSWISS now offers a Sportsbook Platform, Game Aggregator, Crypto Casino Solution, Affilka (Affiliate Management Platform), and Managed Services. 

Ivan Montik, Founder of SOFTSWISS, commented: “Looking back, it’s astonishing to realise how much we’ve grown. We started over 10 years ago with a very small team, which has now become the size of a small village! The SOFTSWISS brand-new look will reflect our constant desire for innovation and development every step of the way. Through the new visual pattern and overall unified image, we will be able to communicate the brand positioning much clearer to our current and potential clients. The slight logo change is also paying tribute to SOFTSWISS origins – we’re fast evolving as a brand, yet we are staying loyal to our roots and where we come from. So, this way we reflect more where we are now as a business”.

Pragmatic Play, a leading content provider to the gaming industry, has launched its brand-new crime-inspired thriller, Empty the Bank™.

Featuring 20 paylines and possible wins of up to 10,000x the stake, the highly volatile slot follows the story of a vocal cockney burglar in a vibrant 5×4 layout, as he attempts to clear out as many vaults as possible, while pocketing their contents along the way.

The main attraction of Empty the Bank™ is the Respin feature, which provides players with the opportunity to enter the bank vault and win big prizes, along with some help from various special symbols that can modify gameplay and boost winning potential.

The burglar serves as the Wild symbol in the game and the safe door as the Bonus symbol, but when three scatter symbols appear on the reels the Respin feature is triggered and players are transferred to a bonus grid that is packed with rewards.

Players will receive three Money symbols (taking random values of up to 10x the player’s bet) and three Respins at the start of the round, which reset whenever a new symbol lands on the reels.

Special symbols that appear in the feature perform specific tasks, such as the Walkie Talkie that adds its value to all money symbols on the screen for all subsequent respins, or the Ladder symbol which can transform the bonus grid into a 7×7 layout!

Empty the Bank™ is the latest release to join Pragmatic Play’s extensive slot offering, arriving off the back of recent hits 5 Lions Megaways™ and Buffalo King Megaways™, which reside amongst 200+ HTML5 titles in the provider’s award-winning games portfolio.

Yossi Barzely, Chief Business Development Officer at Pragmatic Play, said: “We are thrilled to announce the launch of our latest slot title – Empty the Bank™ – the crime-inspired thriller that draws motivation from the dramatised bank raids of the Swinging Sixties.

“As we continue to explore new ideas and push the boundaries of innovation in the industry, we are confident that Empty the Bank™ will resonate strongly with our customers.”

Pragmatic Play currently produces up to five new slot titles a month, while also delivering Live Casino and Bingo games as part of its multi-product portfolio, available through one single API.

Fantasma Games, the developer of slots beyond gambling, will launch its hugely popular Hades – River of Souls title on Relax Gaming with the addition of a buy the bonus feature in the markets where it is permitted.

Wins pay both ways in the 5×3 reel, 10 pay line video slot that has been designed in a way that takes players to the burning core of a dark and deeply frightening underworld where the lost souls and all manner of creatures roam free.

Players are helped in their quest to escape the depths with a range of features. This includes Wilds that can fall down from the rows on top of the reels in an avalanche and substitute for all symbols expect the Skull of Charon and the Bonus Scatter symbol.

Then there is the Wild Souls Multiplier; the Multiplier starts a x1 and for every three Wild symbols that disappear with the avalanche it increases by x1.

Not all of the lost souls in Hades’ underworld are bad. Each Skull of Charon symbol that drops will remove itself and between 2-10 random regular symbols from the reels before the avalanche is activated and new symbols fall onto the game board.

Hades himself helps to drive players from the land of the half-dead; when three Scatter symbols land on reel one during the base game, 10 Hades Free Spins are activated. The Wild Souls Multiplier is also active, but instead of increasing by x1 it increases by x2.

If another three Bonus Scatter symbols appear anywhere on the reels during Hades Free Spins, an additional 10 Free Games are awarded.

The new version of Hades – River of Souls will be available to operators from 13^th of July via the Relax Gaming platform.

Fredrik Johansson, Founder at Fantasma Games, said: “Hades – River of Souls is one of our most popular games to date and we are thrilled to launch it with a new buy the bonus feature that will take player engagement to the next level in the markets where it can be offered.

“Our aim is to develop slots that go beyond gambling and this approach can be seen in the relaunched version of Hades – River of Souls as we have elevated the player experience by providing more control over when the bonuses can be triggered.”

Innovative slot supplier Kalamba Games has reached a growth milestone with the release of its 50th game, Age of Huracan.

Set among the ancient temples of the Mayans, the game tasks players with exploring the magnificent structures in search of treasure and wins while risking the wrath of the powerful Mayan God of wind, fire and storms, Huracan.

Hit three or more K-Cash Hurricane symbols on a single spin to trigger K-Cash Spins. Every K-Cash Hurricane that lands locks in place for the duration of the bonus round, making for a race against time to try and cover all the reels with cash for truly epic potential prizes.

Accumulating cash amounts on the reels fills the K-Cash meter. Blue K-Cash Hurricanes build the K-Cash meter. The red variety not only build the meter, but also boost the multiplier level for free spins up to a maximum of five. The collected cash and multiplierscarry over to K-Cash spins.

HyperBonus allows players to buy-in to access both the K-Cash Spins and Free Spins. Start at three spins and every K-Cash Hurricane that lands resets the meter to three to give players a real thrill.

Following recent successful releases Finnegan’s Formula and Joker Times, Age of Huracan is packed with signature Kalamba flair and represents the quality that pervades throughout the studio’s game library – one which now stands at an impressive 50.

Alex Cohen, COO and Co-Founder at Kalamba Games said: “It doesn’t seem that long ago that we were launching our debut game, so to be hitting the 50 mark is very special. A lot has changed since those early days and we’ve come a long way as a company, which is evident in Age of Huracan.

“It’s a beautiful looking game, with the animation on the 5-reel, 1,024 pay way game screen combining with the soundtrack to evoke an atmosphere – something that’s really cranked up when players hit the free spins.”

Slot developer Stakelogic has expanded into live casino with the launch of a suite of titles including blackjack, roulette, and several gameshows. 

Stakelogic Live will be streamed from a new 22-table studio in Malta, using high definition cameras and the latest broadcast and streaming technologies. The company says it has put together a team of live casino specialists with a proven track record to run its new live division, and that all games have been designed in-house.

At launch, Stakelogic Live offers a portfolio of more than seven live casino games, and the provider says it will continue to build out the range with the support of its development facilities in Kiev and Belgrade. 

Stephan van den Oetelaar, CEO Stakelogic, commented: “For Stakelogic it is a logical step forward to move into the live casino market segment. Many of our tier-1 clients repeatedly asked us to complement our service offering with live casino products. Therefore, Stakelogic will hit the ground running, as many of our clients have already committed to go with Stakelogic Live. We are very happy with the new team of Stakelogic Live and the energy this new business venture brings to our company.”

Anthony Sammut, Head of Live Casino at Stakelogic Live, added: “Stakelogic has built an incredible reputation for designing and developing some of the most popular slot games in recent years and now we plan to do the same in the live casino sector.”

“We have taken our pioneering and progressive approach to slot development and applied it to live casino to create games of distinction that will allow our operator partners to offer their players a superior experience across all of our live titles.”

“Of course, this has only been possible due to the incredible team that we have built to operate Stakelogic Live. They have already done a great job with the games we have for launch and I for one can’t wait to see the next live dealer titles that will roll off the production line.”

In addition to its Dutch headquarters, and Maltese, Ukrainian, and Serbian offices, late last year Stakelogic also expanded its presence in the Isle of Man.