Launched in April 2023, iGaming Daily is a daily news and insight podcast hosted by and starring a rotating cast of SBC Media’s editorial industry experts, and covers the biggest news stories from across the industry landscape, from Europe to North and South America, from sports betting to casino to payments and more. 

iGaming Daily’s newly announced long-term partnership with Optimove will allow the podcast, hosted by SBC Multimedia Editor James Ross and SBC Americas Editor Jessica Welman, to continue its extraordinary growth as it heads into its second year of existence. 

SBC Managing Director Andy McCarron said: “We’re delighted to be announcing such a strong partnership with a leading brand. Optimove has an excellent reputation in the industry and its interest and show of support will allow iGaming Daily to continue to go from strength to strength as it establishes itself as the number one industry podcast and a staple of thousands of industry executives’ weekdays.”

Optimove’s VP of Marketing, Rony Vexelman said: “We have a long-term relationship with SBC and we’re excited to continue this with a brand new partnership with the iGaming Daily podcast. Like Optimove, iGaming Daily delivers expertise across the entire industry, and is the perfect vehicle to increase our brand awareness and market penetration, and further establish Optimove as experts across the betting and gaming landscape. We look forward to exploring new and innovative ways to utilise our sponsorship of the podcast to grow our brands and reputation.”

With over 170 episodes to date, and listeners in over 120 countries, iGaming Daily has been on the frontline of numerous huge industry stories since its inception, including the continuing developments in Brazil, major regulatory news in Europe, and fascinating stories across the US including legal battles in Florida and cyber attacks in Las Vegas. 

SBC Multimedia Editor, and regular iGaming Daily host James Ross said of the partnership: “We’re extremely happy to bring a sponsor of Optimove’s calibre on board for the podcast. A daily news podcast covering every region and vertical is one of the most ambitious projects SBC Media has attempted, and to see its success up to this point attract a partner like Optimove is something everyone involved should feel proud of. I’m excited to work closely with Optimove going forward, and make the most of this partnership to grow both Optimove and iGaming Daily in a fun and creative manner.”

The partnership with Optimove begins with iGaming Daily’s 180th episode on Monday the 15 January, with Ross joined by Ted Menmuir and Martyn Elliott. Follow iGaming Daily on LinkedIn for the latest updates, and subscribe to the podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or your preferred podcast player to never miss an episode. 

The post SBC Media & iGaming Daily announce partnership with Optimove appeared first on CasinoBeats.

The sporting calendar sets a unique tone during the Christmas period, with an influx of festive football combined with a plethora of other sporting fixtures that take centre stage for the holiday season. 

This presents a challenge for operators though, whether this be trading around the Christmas period or engaging new bettors. 

For today’s episode of the iGamingDaily, Conor Porter is joined by Ted Orme-Claye and Danny Lee to discuss the calendar at this time of year and what it means for sports betting and online casino operators.

The post The festive sporting congestion and operator challenges appeared first on CasinoBeats.

Believe it or not, these are also still being innovated today on a global scale, although this familiar sight is being done so in the form of those 5×3, 5×4 et al spinning reels.

This headline term also represents one that drives so much of the day-to-day make-up of this industry, but one that it could be argued is losing much of its meaning, primarily due to the incredible over eagerness of its usage. 

It could be stated that this is to be expected given the never ending tidal wave of titles that are released on a weekly basis, but does this development of more of the same point to the fact that we’re simply nearing the end of the line in product innovation for online slots? Are we actually seeing any innovations when it comes to such features and mechanics?

This certainly divided opinion, albeit briefly, in a trial run of iGaming Daily, SBC’s podcast that is produced each week day, and is one that needs to be elaborated on a little more than a simple yes or no. Otherwise, I would be around 500 words short of my word count.

There is undoubtedly innovation, but in the wider content of the industry is this enough?

Copycat syndrome is rife, think of the numerous iterations of everyone’s favourite adventurer in Indiana Jones, or how much of a love affair we have with fruit, etc… 

It could be argued that Megaways cis worthy of an inclusion here if looking at things from a mechanics point of view. Personally, I know countless slot enthusiasts who think certain mechanics “make every game look the same” (not my words – don’t shoot the messenger).

“…the impact of the players themselves must also be placed under the microscope”

From a purely media perspective, it is particularly crucial to be careful of attaching words such as innovative and innovation to anything and everything. This is a familiar sight each day by many across the industry, however, as alluded to above, It does start to feel like it’s losing all meaning.

Another key thing to keep in mind, in my opinion anyhow, is the concept of innovation versus progression. Are a large slice of the concepts labeled as innovative truly transformative? Or are they simply kicking something that we are already all too familiar with down the road a little more?

After almost six years in the industry, some ‘innovative’ concepts seem to have been spoken about almost as much as Latin America has been dubbed the next big thing. Although it is refreshing that significant progress has been made across the latter. 

Getting back to the topic at hand, the impact of the players themselves must also be placed under the microscope, in addition to the trust of operators in welcoming fresh concepts. 

An individual could well be comfortable with what they know, or simply not be blessed with masses of time to spend looking for title/s to play. The double sided coin here balances the effectiveness of a lobby against the thought that said player/s would simply head straight to what they know. 

How much innovation is too much? To this point, maybe we could consider the Aesop fable of the tortoise and the hare.

Swinging things back to slots and the tidal wave of output that was touched upon earlier, could the danger be that there’s now more of a focus in producing a catalogue that appeases the many? Or simply producing a vast amount of games?

“Supporting unique content through quality marketing and positioning is imperative to tipping the scales”

If you throw enough ideas at the wall, one will stick, right? The heightened output is undoubtedly an advantage to some. Those being the larger studios that could potentially be particularly well versed at enjoying success across multiple territories and demographics.

Building upon this is the risk that potential hit titles are simply being swamped by the volume of competition? Could true innovation be slipping between the cracks, or be a mere whisper among the ear splitting noise of more established and much better funded counterparts? This, it could be argued, is unless they are backed by an equally solid mixture of the right marketing and partnerships with operators.

Rounding all of this up, as I’m now currently above the word count and our SBC Leaders Editor will shout, where do slots go from here? What does the future hold? How do studios innovate?

To engage and excite you need to stand out. In the mid to long run, innovation is undoubtedly key to surviving the content deluge.

However, a balance between innovation (that’s the 14th usage of this word in one form another in the article – who am I to say it’s overused), and familiarity must be struck.

Reinventing the wheel every month can push players in the wrong direction, while, on the flip side, a consistent outlay of reskins is simply not the way forward. 

Thinking outside of the box is crucial, and those that churn out the same, or incredibly similar, content will inevitably get left behind.

Casinos also play a crucial role. Supporting unique content through quality marketing and positioning is imperative to tipping the scales in the right direction

Should operators promote unique content in the correct manner, this would help foster, and further, creativity throughout the industry. 

It is simply not a numbers game. Quality must win out over quantity.

The post Op-ed: innovation is simply not a numbers game appeared first on CasinoBeats.

This follows the completion of a €75m bond issue, which saw Betsson stress that this move better positions the operator to make significant progress on multiple long term ambitions, of which acquisitions forms a key facet.

The senior unsecured bonds have a framework of up to €25m, tenor of three years, floating interest rate of EURIBOR three months plus 460 bps and final maturity date in September 2026.

This, the group noted, will be used towards general corporate purposes, which include, but are not limited to, acquisitions.

“The new bond provides us with additional financial flexibility and supports Betsson’s long-term strategy, which means continued investments to drive profitable growth,” Martin Öhman, CFO Betsson, said.

Earlier in the year, Pontus Lindwall, Betsson CEO, and Jesper Svensson, CEO of Betsson Operations, joined iGaming Daily following “another record-breaking quarter” being declared upon publication of the company’s H2 performance.

This delved into the group’s recent M&A moves, which included the acquisition of BetFirst and collaboration with Groupe Partouche, what regions the company is next eyeing for expansion and the impact that a certain sponsorship has had on its standing within Latin America.

Regarding any potential future purchases, Lindwall said: “Yes. I mean, we don’t do deals like this one every week, but M&A is a part of our growth strategy. 

“We are permanently looking for M&A opportunities and being lucky to be such a profitable company with a strong balance sheet, we have the ability to acquire more companies even after this.”

Most recently, the company undertook the latest stage of European expansion after being granted a licence for the regulated Serbian online casino ecosystem.

This was undertaken through the Rizk brand, which was purchased from Gaming Innovation Group over three years ago.

The €33m April 2020 transaction saw Betsson acquire GiG’s Zecure Gaming B2C vertical, which included the Rizk brand as well as sister entities Guts, Kaboo and Thrills and related operational entities.

After recently revealing that revenue through the April-June timeframe increased 27 per cent to €236.8m (2022: €186.3m), the CEECA region was found to the group’s largest segment via a 68 per cent revenue uptick to €102.6m (2022: 61.1m).

The post Betsson maintains acquisitive interests following €75m bond issue appeared first on CasinoBeats.

Hosted by Craig Davies, CasinoBeats Editor, the podcast episode dived into the group’s recent acquisition movements, what regions the company is eyeing for expansion next and the impact that certain sponsorship has had on Betsson’s LatAm position. 

While Lindwall mentioned that the company has been following an operational strategy for around four years that looks to be “paying off”, Davies quizzed the CEO on Betsson’s decision to focus on the Belgian market, following its June acquisition of BetFirst and collaboration with Groupe Partouche. 

Lindwall explained: “We have been looking at the Belgian market for a very long time, obviously being outside of that market and it’s an interesting market. Once we came across BetFirst and started to look closer at it, we became even more interested and we really liked what we saw. The company is very skillful. They have a very good position within sports betting in the country. 

“Also, through the partnership that Betsson has with Group Patouche from France, we can support BetFirst with an A-plus licence, which will broaden their product offering. So it will give them an even better position to act from in the Belgian market going forward.”

Looking across the border into the Netherlands, Lindwall was then probed on the operator’s difficult decision to remove itself from the Dutch licensing process. Although Lindwall confirmed the group had not shut the Netherlands out completely, it was suggested that Betsson was keen to take its focus elsewhere. 

“We have been out of the Dutch market for some time now since we shut down our operations,” stated Lindwall. “We have proven that we managed to increase revenues and profits strongly without the Netherlands market. 

“This doesn’t mean that we don’t like the Netherlands market, we would like to be there, but we’ve been in some kind of licensing process for more than a year now. We just had to move those resources to other projects which are more appealing right now.”

Another topic of Betsson’s recent activity came from the firm’s Argentinian sponsorship deal formed with one of Latin America’s biggest football institutions, Boca Juniors, which was heavily praised in the H1 report. 

While the deal was only formed towards the end of last month, Lindwall detailed that the firm can “already see the effects” of becoming the side’s main sponsor. 

Lindwall continued: “Boca Juniors is a massive club, not just in Argentina, it’s all over Latin America and the world, I would say. And it’s the club with the most supporters in Argentina, so we have got great exposure already, and we’re already seeing the impact of this also on our KPIs. 

“But I think this also shows our commitment towards the whole region and the Argentinian market. We believe that, over time, Latin America will be a great growth area for our business and it’s natural for us to do this type of investment into the region when we believe so much in the potential over there.”

Staying on the continent, Davies wondered whether there were any other areas of focus for Betsson to expand within Latin America, and Lindwall was quick to provide suggestions. 

He commented: “I think one market that is very relevant for us is Peru, where we are in a strong position and they are also moving towards a local regulation. There’s a lot of things happening within that market. And, I think a lot of countries are following through on what both Colombia and Argentina have been doing relatively recently, when they have been setting up a local licensing system. 

“Colombia is also important for us, it’s where we have our regional hub. We have built up an office and strong local presence there. But we are pretty much looking into every single country in the region and I think it’s important to acknowledge that those countries are very different. They definitely are. 

“Although the majority of the countries speak Spanish, when it comes to product offering, payment solutions and so forth, there’s a great difference over there. I think if you take the region overall, it represents a really good future opportunity for us.”

Before the conversation drew to a close, Lindwall was asked whether the company had any further M&A plans for the future, due to its recent activity in Belgium. 

Lindwall said: “Yes. I mean, we don’t do deals like this one every week, but M&A is a part of our growth strategy. We are permanently looking for M&A opportunities and being lucky to be such a profitable company with a strong balance sheet, we have the ability to acquire more companies even after this.”

To listen to the full interview, as well as an in depth discussion around Betsson’s Interim results, click here to be directed to the iGaming Daily podcast.

The post Pontus Lindwall, Betsson: M&A is part of our growth strategy appeared first on CasinoBeats.

Overseen by SBC Multimedia Editor James Ross it features a rotating cast of experts from all of SBC’s vast network of news portals, and beyond. The show switches on a daily basis through industry verticals and geographic regions, from Europe to the US and LatAm, from sports betting to casino and gaming. 

Each day, the host will be joined by relevant experts, including SBC News Editor Ted Menmuir, Head of LatAm Media Lucía Mouriño, CasinoBeats Editor Craig Davies, SBC Americas Editor Jessica Welman, SBC Managing Director Andrew McCarron, SBC Senior Media Manager Martyn Elliott, and a strong roster of Senior Journalists including Ted Orme-Claye, Charlie Horner, Conor Porter, Isadora Marcante, Fernando Noodt and more

James Ross said: “It’s exciting to get this project underway. A daily podcast was a daunting challenge, but the team has proven that there is always something new to discuss somewhere in the world. It’s very satisfying seeing the latest episode of iGaming Daily enter my podcast feed every day.”

SBC Managing Director Andrew McCarron commented: “Who needs another podcast, right? Well James and the production team has created a truly global igaming podcast that brings something new to the market. This new pod leverages the biggest editorial team in the industry’s B2B space and provides news and insight across another media platform.”

Recorded every day, the podcast will be released early evening Europe and mid-morning Eastern time, with guests joining from the UK, Malta, Spain, USA, Argentina and Brazil, as well as live recordings from SBC Events such as SBC Summit North America in New Jersey, CasinoBeats Summit in Malta, SBC Summit Latinoamérica in Miami, or SBC Summit Barcelona. 

iGaming Daily offers expert analysis, live fallout and fresh takes on the biggest, most industry-shifting stories that break in the betting and gaming worlds, including important regulatory updates, major M&A deals, notable appointments and departures, and much more. 

You can listen to the podcast every day, on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts from. You can also ask your smart speaker to play the podcast iGaming Daily by SBC Media. 

The post SBC Media launch iGaming Daily podcast appeared first on CasinoBeats.