CasinoBeats spoke to several sources after a number of members of staff were notified of redundancy. Commenting on the job losses, one shocked source said: “Nobody saw it coming,” while another called the move “absolutely disgusting”.

It is understood that 10 to 15 employees lost their jobs, each receiving a letter signed by Multilotto CEO Christian Hellbjer that confirmed their position was no longer needed. One employee said they felt “forced” to sign the letter, thus accepting its terms.

The letter, addressed individually to affected employees opened:

“The purpose of this letter is to confirm the outcome of a recent review by the Board of Directors of The Multi Group Ltd of its operational requirements, and what this means to you.

“As a result of surrender of UKGC licence and MGA licence [sic], the position of [job title] is no longer needed. Regrettably this means your employment will terminate.”

The one-page letter, a redacted copy of which can be viewed below, then set out the terms on which any final payments would be made to the affected employees.

In June, 2017, it was announced that Chinese lottery solutions provider 500.com was to acquire a majority stake in The Multi Group, operator of the Multilotto brand, for a reported €50m. Hellbjer was promoted to the position of CEO in January, 2019, having joined The Multi Group from university as financial controller, eventually taking on the position of CFO.

Speaking to CasinoBeats yesterday, Hellbjer wrote in an email: “I can confirm that we are doing a restructuring at the moment and are scaling down our workforce.

“Unfortunately this meant that we had to make several roles within our company redundant,” he said, going on to add that there are presently “no further plans of more redundancies”.

Questioned about the .co.uk and .com operations, licensed respectively by the UKGC and the MGA – and which remain live and accepting bets – Hellbjer wrote: “We always put our customers first and have taken all necessary precautions to protect their interests.

“Once we come to a date with the regulators regarding our exit, our customers will have the chance to withdraw their funds in a timely manner.”

CasinoBeats has also approached both the UK Gambling Commission and the Malta Gaming Authority regarding the news.

A UKGC spokesperson said it would not comment on individual operators while, at the time of publication, no comment had yet been received from the MGA.

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The letter, published on Monday and addressed to Dr Helmut Becker and Jonas Matsson, respectively CEO and CFO of Zeal, sees Birrell question the value of the deal; seek more clarity on cost benefit and even goes so far as to infer a conflict of interests, naming Zeal shareholders Gunther Group and Oliver Jaster.

Indeed, Birrell accuses the Zeal board of acting “in the interest of certain shareholders”.

Birrell said the merger, which was approved by the German Federal Cartel Office on December 18, would lead to “value destruction” if shareholders do not “stop the transaction now.” The deal is currently set to be voted upon at the forthcoming Zeal Extraordinary General Meeting, scheduled for January 18, and Birrell called for this to be delayed.

He listed a number of questions, the answers to which he asserted should be provided in the interests of “all shareholders”. The relevant extract is below.

The two-page letter drew to a close with Birrell stating that Lottoland would make an “alternative offer” for “certain assets” of Zeal Network. The CEO said that Lottoland would shortly contact Zeal with details of the alternative transaction, with a view to publishing the offer by January 31.

Birrell said the alternative offer from Lottoland, which has undertaken its own “outside-in due diligence” on the original deal, would result in a “better outcome for all shareholders”.

Update: Read Zeal Network’s response here

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The company intends to leverage the Canadian group’s technology to accelerate its user verification process, with an internal probe to be undertaken as to how this could also benefit its lotto and gaming platforms.

Pursuant to the terms of the agreement, the company will issue an aggregate of 59,289,392 common shares in the capital of the company to shareholders of Braight AI at a value of $0.185 each.  

After closing, the arms-length transaction will also see Kings Entertainment appoint two nominees of Braight AI to its board of directors.

Closing of the transaction is subject to receipt of an independent third party valuation of Braight AI that proves to the satisfactory to the firm, compliance with all applicable regulatory requirements and receipt of all necessary regulatory, corporate, and board approvals being obtained, including the approval of the Canadian Securities Exchange.

However, Kings Entertainment, the parent company of LottoKings and WinTrillions, has noted that there can be no assurance that the transaction will be nudged over the line.

Last month, Braight AI entered into a share exchange agreement with Polish firm Epeer Spółka Z Ograniczoną Odpowiedzialnością relating to the acquisition of all issued and outstanding capital of the form.

Pursuant to the acquisitions terms of conditions, after closing Kings Entertainment has agreed to transfer $1.5m to Epeer.

This will be done in four equal instalments of $375,000 which will be undertaken seven days after the deal is finalised, as well as on or before October 10, 2023, January 10, 2024; and April 10, 2024. The company will also transfer 30 per cent of the net proceeds from each capital raise within the 24 months to Epeer.

Earlier in the year, Kings Entertainment announced that a settlement had been reached with Sports Venture Holdings regarding an ultimately doomed business combination agreement.

The merger agreement alongside the holding company of the Canadian sportsbook and online casino brand Bet99 was first detailed in late May 2022, with the deal subsequently being pursuant to three extensions in a bid to nudge the combination over the line.

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In a statement, Ayvar Gabidullin, business development manager at Slotegrator, commented: “Working with partners like Lotto Agent is a special pleasure. We are united by our aspiration to offer our clients the best solutions, as well as to surprise them. I’m sure that our partnership has great prospects.” 

Slotegrator also noted in the missive that the two firms have already implemented many solutions together, but have big plans for 2023. “Fans of instant games should keep an eye out because something incredible is right around the corner,” it said.

World-famous American lotteries like Powerball and MEGA Millions, the world’s only games of chance with jackpots exceeding $1bn, were the first to appear on Lotto Agent apps and sites. Later, equally famous European lotteries such as EuroMillions and SuperEnalotto came on board. 

Said Slotegrator: “For several years, lotteries from North and South America, Europe, Australia, Asia, and Africa have been added to the set of the world’s most famous games offered by Lotto Agent. Among them, there were games with complex matrices, jaw-dropping nine-figure jackpots, and simple lotteries like ‘match 6 out of 35’, offering smaller prizes.”

Initially, Lotto Agent provided gambling services in almost all countries worldwide, studying the tastes and preferences of its multinational audience. The company found that residents of some regions prefer their domestic lotteries, and are even willing to pay a premium to buy their tickets online. 

Players in other markets, such as India it said, are “more open to experiments, driven mainly by curiosity”. At the same time, users from LatAm chose American and European lotteries because, “for various reasons they place less trust in their own national operators”. Over time, the company decided to focus on only a few markets to provide them with the highest quality service.

According to Lotto Agent, its long-standing player base requested an expansion of the available set of games. It emerged that in Latin America, crash games (such as Aviator) are top-rated, while in India, players prefer slots and games with live dealers. 

These players, the company underlined, wanted the convenience of a single portal for all their lottery and gaming needs, so it adapted to meet their needs. “Slots were the first instant games the company presented to its players in 2022, and after a successful release, crash games, baccarat, roulette, keno, live dealer games, and much more have been rolled out,” it said.

The post Slotegrator and Lotto Agent deal heralds <br> ‘something incredible around the corner’ appeared first on CasinoBeats.

The company’s chief product and business development officer, Ian Catchick, lifts the lid on this year’s development strategy before looking ahead to 2022.

CasinoBeats: The recent relaunch of BetGames’ flagship lotto product has been a great success; how much of that revamp has been influenced by the changes on a technical level?  

Ian Catchick: We’ve been focusing on a number of areas in which we can make our games more appealing. From a technical perspective, our aim is to continue to provide a stable, resilient and flexible solution that will delight our customers. Our goal is to always adapt and evolve and with that comes changing and optimising our technology.

Overall, we’re delighted with the technical advances we’ve deployed as part of this ambitious relaunch. It was vital that all the hardware we used was state-of-the-art and this is reflected in the end result. 

CB: With the industry focusing heavily on providing mobile and online services, what challenges does this bring to product development and how does BetGames leverage the modern technology resources available?  

IC: The advent of mobile-facing content has caused a lot of suppliers to think hard about ways in which they can offer premium content without sacrificing quality, as mobile and PC platforms require different solutions.

At BetGames, we’ve adopted a philosophy that allows us to overcome these hurdles, through the offering of simple, yet engaging products that focus on the players gaming experience rather than implementing or forcing too much content. 

We are also starting to evolve our products based on a ‘less is more’ philosophy, so that we can provide a clean and compelling gaming experience to our end-customers. 

We place a lot of emphasis on trying to simplify and streamline content, so that a customer has a simple and fun playing experience. This often means a lot of care, thought and attention – all of which is needed to look into ways in which we can enable mobile play to be entertaining and accessible to players on all device types, which adds a few layers of complexity for us to work with, but really brings results.

CB: From a supplier perspective, how much of a shift have you seen from retail to online in recent times? Does that influence the R&D that goes into creating new products?  

IC: Unsurprisingly, we have seen strong growth across online, although we are very fortunate to also have a strong and loyal retail customer base who will continue to enjoy their gaming experience. For us, this proves that there’s a healthy demand within that channel, which shows no signs of changing.

From an R&D perspective, more focus has shifted towards our online offering, and we have more tools available to help us develop and test concepts and understand player behaviours ahead of any major launch. We always focus on developing products that are appropriate for all channels, and we have specific plans and solutions to ensure we have a strong retail product in addition to our delivery. 

It’s crucial that industry-leading suppliers do not neglect retail operations, simply because there’s been an increase in activity online – it’s all about delivering a product that can work flawlessly across every channel.

That being said, our current portfolio serves around 1500 web platforms worldwide. Therefore, it’s vital that we keep an eye on any developments or shifts that occur within the igaming industry. This is of course something we take very seriously at BetGames, and we’re always committed to delivering the very best.  

CB: Having spent over 20 years in the gambling industry, leading product development for a number of major companies, how are you channeling your experience into BetGames’ ambitious product strategy? 

IC: The BetGames product strategy for the year ahead will be transformative, with a lot of ambitious, exciting, and innovative projects ahead of us. As a team, we are relishing this, and with such a large transformation programme, it can become very easy to work on too many things. My experience helps us to prioritise and ensure that we keep completely focused on delivery, while maintaining focus on world-class execution. After all, this is what’s expected from a tier-one supplier. 

Additionally, we will drive activities to ensure that the company continues to progress and evolve, whilst maintaining its record of creating immersive live dealer products, as with the Lotto Reloaded re-launch. I truly believe the company is entering a new chapter whilst continuing to reinvent itself as an igaming supplier – which I’m delighted to be a part of.

CB: BetGames has been expanding rapidly in recent times; does that make your job easier or more difficult? What challenges does such growth present?  

IC: The pace of expansion adds more pressure to keep innovating, to meet the growing expectations that arise from this, so I would say it’s a great challenge to tackle. So far, I would say that we have managed to strike the correct balance of optimisation, innovation and new product development. 

This has allowed us to continue focusing on improving our existing product portfolio, whilst also ensuring we can continue to recognise and address the growing needs for the evolving demographics we serve. 

To add to the excitement, we are also working on something completely new that we will share more details on in the New Year. While I can’t say too much yet, I am confident it will drive the BetGames proposition into an exciting new era, significantly impressing consumers and partners alike.

CB: There have been several product overhauls for BetGames in the last year. Is this set to continue with the remainder of your products?  

IC: There will be an ongoing focus on optimising, improving and innovating in all of our existing games across the portfolio, and this level of intensity and pace of change will increase further in 2022. With our recent relaunch and product overhaul, we plan to continue reinforcing ourselves as a supplier to maintain rapid growth. A good example of this is how we will continue to develop our bespoke solution opportunities to our partners, which have proven extraordinarily successful in recent years.

CB: Looking at 2022, what does the BetGames roadmap look like? Can you give us any insight into new product-based or market directions that you have in store?  

IC: We have great ambitions, and a committed board willing us to push even harder in 2022. Our plans will focus on three areas – simplification and optimisation of our existing products, development of customer loyalty/engagement tools, and innovation and development of new products with the launch of an exciting new product vertical, which we’ll share more information on in the new year. 

Looking ahead, there are many exciting milestones in our roadmap that will be introduced in 2022, and this will allow us to continue enhancing our portfolio and ensuring we hit our ambitious growth plans with ease.

The post Relaunched and revitalised: A tale of 2021 for BetGames appeared first on CasinoBeats.

Lauded as a “prized contract” by Neccton who won the contract via a public tender process, the company says that it had to prove its credentials and explain how it would best serve Lotto NZ players.

Subsequently, the Vienna, Austria-based data science and software company has been working with the Lotto NZ team to reinforce their responsible gambling ethos across the group’s online offering. 

The agreement will see Neccton integrate its player behaviour analysis tool, which alerts the operator and contacts players who display critical behaviour directly, with Lotto NZ. 

This will see the firm’s online players become guarded by an AI-based solution that analyses player behaviour in real-time to prevent problem gambling habits evolving. The software recognises possible problematic behaviour and works to help both player and operator to identify and address the issue.

For example, players are informed when their deposit frequency is increasing significantly, which aims to help customers make better-informed decisions about their play with individualised feedback.

Dr Michael Auer, director and head of development at Neccton, said of the partnership: “We are always very proud when well-established organisations use our tools to help their players. 

“Our reach is increasing internationally as our reputation grows, and operators of all kinds are recognising the value of our software, and the validity of our approach to player protection, which we believe is unique.”

Lotto NZ in provides instant win games, plus daily Keno, alongside their traditional lottery tickets, to registered players online. Neccton’s mentor is now monitoring the play patterns of those customers in a bid to ensure they gamble responsibly and do not develop harmful play habits.

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CasinoBeats sat down with Thomas Aigner, head of sales at BetGames, to talk through the studio’s multiple milestones in recent months, including the relaunch of its lottery suite, new Malta Hub and extensive rebrand. 

CasinoBeats: BetGames has had an exciting few months with your Malta hub, rebrand and Lotto Reloaded launch. Can you tell us about all these big announcements and what that means for you as a studio?

Thomas Aigner: Indeed, we’ve had an excellent few months with several new developments within our business. The opening of the Malta hub was an important step for us as it underlined our international footprint and mindset. We’ve been looking to expand in several jurisdictions and the launch of our new base of operations will allow us to grow our foothold in a fiercely contested market. 

Additionally, the rebranding into Lotto Reloaded meant a lot as it followed our strategy and showed that BetGames as a company and brand is leveling up. It also means that with our lucky games, we are now perfectly positioned to be included in tier-one operators’ portfolios. We expect to see more of this kind of development in the near future. 

Moreover, we also did a full rebranding of our CI and website which was another important step towards our three-year strategy.

CB: How will this change what you offer your partners and how do you see the company evolving from a commercial perspective? 

TA: As soon as these changes came to fruition, we immediately experienced success, especially on our commercial side. Our classic portfolio of games is now attracting even more players in different regions and getting more visibility on our partners sites, resulting in a much-welcomed growth in gross gaming revenue. 

This gives us even more opportunities to re-invest money into existing partnerships with current partners, which is a nice updraft to what we already see now. In addition, I believe that the changes show our professionalism, as these occurred in an extremely short period of time, without troubling our partners. This results in more partner interest for future developments and branded solutions. 

CB: Where is the key for BetGames right now in terms of global regions? Where do you see your products fitting in alongside the casino lobby? 

TA: We see ourselves as an international company and are currently growing in all continents but, we still have some strong markets where we started early. From a product perspective this is also reflected by the fact that we are offering a classic portfolio of games which are well known and liked by players in all markets.

We see ourselves as the perfect product for sports bettors and a great conversion tool for both cross-selling and upselling our fantastic services. Therefore, many of our partners have included BetGames content in its own category with a cross-link of single games in the live casino lobby – but also targeting sports bettors with our own category of games. 

All our developments have sports betting DNA in them – and it’s really shown results. If we sit in the live casino lobby, games such as Rock Paper Scissors will fit into the game show category and, of course, our lotto and card games. 

This is particularly the case in such a saturated market as now – given that players are overwhelmed with a lot of similar content, which, frankly, means that many are tired of seeing more of the same. 

This is where we step in as we’re truly unique. We offer by far the best format to make sports bettors feel right at home. BetGames on the other hand has unique content, odds and a betslip to attract sports bettors, we also offer the easiest and simplest games which are loved by a wide target audience. The simplicity and ease of understanding of our content gives us more visibility on partner sites, as this is totally the opposite of other supplier developments.  

CB: What, in principle, is the appeal BetGames products have to offer competitors in the live casino space? How do you differ as a studio? 

TA: Again, it’s the simplicity of our games, players find them easy to understand. We give them exactly what they want (especially for sports bettors) and do not distract them by displaying too much. 

Of course, we also have our more sophisticated products, which add a really great additional twist – and will be a key part of future offerings. Of course, each game has its own place – and our classic portfolio of games are much loved due to their simplicity, ease of use and simplicity. 

CB: When it comes to taking on the Evolutions of this world, are you looking to appeal to the same demographic of players? Is, for example, sport proving a stronger cross-sell for your products?

TA: We have a much broader target audience that is not strongly focused on attracting VIP players. If there’s one thing we’ve learned from the last year – the future of gaming is all about extended entertainment and low-spend over longer periods of time. 

We’re perfect for cross or upselling sports bettors into such a live environment, and it’s a real win for the operator/regulator relationship – meaning we can engage players with that same fixed-odds format they know and love – the Evolutions of this world can’t offer this – and it really shows by the demographics who always choose us over them.  

CB: Last but not least, following all your recent news – what does 2022 look like for BetGames? What can we expect over the next 12 months? 

TA: You can expect big news in 2022, as we’re currently heavily investing into great new developments to go alongside our classic portfolio of games. Of course, we won’t be giving too much away now – but we’ve got some truly unique plans in the pipeline! 

Additionally, we’re following our strategy by refurbishing our studios and making them more attractive for different markets. Localisation is of course a focus for us, and our new format enables us to deliver a product that can work in say, 20 different countries and 10 different languages. 

Looking to the future, I believe that with the excellent strategy we have in place – as well as the first-rate insights and analytics that we apply to the create process, we’ll ensure that by expanding our already hugely popular portfolio, our BetGames brand will continue to go from strength-to-strength in our vertical. 

I am delighted to be part of this journey and am very confident that we’ll continue to prove ourselves as an invaluable partner to tier one operators the world over.

The post Thomas Aigner: Malta hub one of ‘multiple milestones’ for BetGames appeared first on CasinoBeats.

The regulator says that it had identified advertisements for EuroJackpot on girlscene.nl, a website that it says focuses on minors. The law prohibits the targeting of games of chance advertising at minors. 

It is added that the Nederlandse Loterij also failed to comply with a cease and desist order, which also tasked Lotto with taking “appropriate measures to prevent a recurrence in the future”.

“Lotto has failed to comply with the order subject to penalty by placing advertisements for EuroJackpot on girlscene.nl. That is why the penalty must now be paid,” the regulator said in a media statement.

Adding: “The Ksa continues to monitor whether games of chance providers target vulnerable groups, such as minors, with their advertisements. If this is the case, the Ksa can take enforcement action. 

“Providers are always responsible for all their advertisements, even if they have their advertisements taken care of via third parties such as advertising agencies.”

Last month, the Ksa published its policy guidelines for “involuntary registration” to Dutch gambling’s national self-exclusion scheme, CRUKS. 

As of October 1, there will be a legal requirement under the Netherlands new KOA regime for all Ksa licensed online gambling operators to centralise their player databases with the self-exclusion system.

Sander Dekker, Dutch minister for legal protections, approved Ksa policies on player voluntary or involuntary self-exclusion in order to provide oversight on the “most sensitive matter in regulating online gambling”.

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The two charities become the latest additions to the lottery format, which first launched in May 2020 in collaboration with The British Red Cross, Hospice UK, Keep Britain Tidy, and The Marine Conservation Society.

“We are delighted to welcome the Prader-Willi Syndrome Association UK and Blue Cross for Pets as partners for our Win-Win Charity Lotto,” Nigel Birrell, Lottoland CEO, said. 

“The PWS Association is a charity close to my heart and I have long been a supporter of the amazing work they do and as a devoted dog owner, it’s great to be able to support a charity that goes above and beyond to help sick, injured, abandoned and homeless pets. With the support of our players, we hope to be able to make a real difference to these amazing causes.” 

Each bet on the Win-Win Charity Lotto costs £1, 20p of which is donated to its chosen UK charities, and the jackpot is fixed at £250,000 for every draw. 

The game format and results are based on the popular French Lotto, with draws taking place every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday. Five balls are drawn out of a total of 49, with 10 bonus balls up for grabs.  

“Prader-Willi syndrome is a rare genetic disorder that occurs in approximately one out of every 15,000 births,” noted Susan Passmore, CEO, at Prader-Willi Syndrome Association.

“It causes low muscle tone, a learning difficulty, an emotional and social immaturity and an insatiable chronic appetite usually develops which can lead to life threatening obesity. 

“The Association supports families to overcome the challenges that those with Prader-Willi syndrome face. With the help of Lottoland, we can continue our vital work to find strategies and treatments to help those with PWS.”

As a result of its success during launch year, the online lotto betting operator says that it hopes to continue building on the Win-Win Lotto in support of the two new charitable additions.

Natalie Paweleck, corporate partnerships manager at Blue Cross, added: “The money raised by Lottoland will be a big help with our work caring for sick, injured and abandoned pets through our veterinary services and rehoming homeless dogs, cats, small pets and horses and also supporting those who have lost their beloved pets.”

The post Lottoland adds two new partners to charitable format appeared first on CasinoBeats.

The supplier’s slot games suite is already live with the online lotto betting operator, with players now offered access to Pragmatic Play’s bingo offering, including five different variants of the game (30, 50, 75, 80 and 90-ball).

Nigel Birrell, chief executive officer at Lottoland, said: “It’s fantastic to be joining forces with Pragmatic Play once again and we’re thrilled to add its exciting bingo vertical to our extensive offering.

“At Lottoland our customers enjoyment is paramount, and we always aim to deliver them the best products available.”

Also included as part of the deal is the developer’s exclusive Bingo Blast product, lauded as “a new take of a classic game brings forward engaging visuals, a new way to play and high-quality elements designed entirely in-house”. 

A game of Bingo Blast is 3-4 times faster than the average 90-ball bingo game, and the title comes complete with customisable UI and UX.

Melissa Summerfield, chief commercial officer at Pragmatic Play, said: “We’re thrilled to build upon our partnership with Lottoland by adding our state-of-the-art bingo product to its extensive offering.

“The bingo vertical’s network is run by a highly experienced team and the product comes equipped with a multitude of features including BOGOF, roll-on, multi-stake, XTG, as well as a chat host service.”

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