Latest News
Top Sports Betting Moments of 2023 from Betano and Stoiximan by Kaizen Gaming
Real Madrid leads as most popular team in betting
Premier League pays out highest winnings
Over 11x more bets on the Saudi Pro League after Ronaldo’s transfer
2023 was a year of many ‘firsts’. For the first time ever, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo played club football outside Europe. Manchester City won its first and long-awaited Champions League trophy. Fluminense took its first taste of a Copa Libertadores triumph. The Spanish national team won its first World Cup in women’s football. And in the NBA, the Denver Nuggets secured its first NBA championship.
Kaizen Gaming, one of the biggest gametech companies in the world, sheds a different light on the events, teams and stories that stole the show in 2023 through data gathered from its sports betting platforms, Betano and Stoiximan, from 13 countries across four continents.
Across all markets, Premier League fixtures and Champions League matches featuring English clubs proved popular among bettors, as did local teams. Various Manchester City fixtures were in the top five betting events across many regions including its June match against Inter Milan in Greece, Cyprus and Czechia and its February RB Leipzig and its May Real Madrid matches in Bulgaria. Similarly, the Citizens’ December match against Everton and November game against Chelsea ranked as two of the top betting choices among Nigerian punters.
In Germany, most bets were placed on November’s match between FC Bayern Munchen and FC Copenhagen followed by November’s FSV Mainz 05 versus RB Leipzig game. In Brazil, November’s Flamengo RJ versus Palmeiras SP came out ahead.
Two Bizarre Stories from Liverpool
On May 28 in Southampton versus Liverpool, Betano and Stoiximan players were paid out regardless of the result they had bet on for two reasons: a special Kaizen Gaming offer paying players when the team they bet on gets a two-goal lead and a crazy scoreboard that saw both teams getting such a lead and ended in a 4-4 draw.
On September 30 in Tottenham vs Liverpool (2-1), a clearly wrong VAR call led to the cancellation of a goal by Luis Diaz as offside. Nonetheless, Kaizen Gaming decided to reward the players who placed a bet on Luis Diaz to score.
What else stood out from a gaming perspective in all markets where Kaizen operates?
Real Madrid Reigns Supreme
In 2023, Real Madrid didn’t manage to defend its 2022 Champions League and La Liga titles. Still, the Copa del Rey winners were the most popular team among bettors. The team that won it all, Manchester City, just fell short this time, being the second most betted club with Liverpool in third place.
In basketball, even though the Miami Heat lost the NBA finals to the Denver Nuggets, it was ‘crowned’ the most popular team in betting with its rivals in second place. The Milwaukee Bucks, starring Betano global ambassador Giannis Antetokounmpo, came third.
A Truly Celebratory Boxing Day
Boxing Day’s Premier League matches seemed to be the best time to bet in 2023. That day’s match between Everton and Manchester City (1-3) shared the most winnings to Kaizen’s customers in 2023. Placed second was Chelsea versus Crystal Palace (2-1) for the same Premier League fixture on December 27. Ranked third was Liverpool versus Real Madrid (2-5) for the Champions League Round of 16.
As for the matches where players placed the most bets, in Europe the winner is the second leg Champions League quarter final 1-1 draw between Napoli and AC Milan. Surprisingly, the Champions League final between Manchester City and Inter (1-0) was just third. In South America, the most popular match was Cruzeiro versus Palmeiras (1-1) in the last fixture of the Brazilian Serie A, where Palmeiras were crowned Brazilian champions.
The Ronaldo and Messi Effect
After Cristiano Ronaldo’s transfer to Al Nassr, a lot of top names such as Neymar, Benzema and Kante, decided to make the move to the Saudi Pro League in what journalists and fans describe as ‘the Ronaldo Effect’. ‘The Ronaldo Effect’ extends to betting too, as his transfer increased bettors’ interest in the league by more than 1,000%. As for Messi’s transfer to Inter Miami, 25% of all Inter Miami relevant bets are on ‘Messi to score’.
2024 a Thrilling Year in Sports
At the end of 2023, Kaizen Gaming announced that its Betano brand has signed on as an Official Global Sponsor of UEFA Euro 2024 with its Stoiximan brand serving as official sponsor of the upcoming Euro for Greece and Cyprus. With the Paris Olympic Games and other major sporting events like Copa America and Africa Cup of Nations, 2024 is set out to be an all around thrilling year in sports gaming.
Affilka by SOFTSWISS, an affiliate management software platform, has secured the title of Affiliate Software Supplier at the prestigious EGR B2B Awards for the second consecutive year. The awards ceremony took place on 3 July at London’s iconic The Roundhouse, where the iGaming industry gathered to celebrate the most successful and innovative companies of the past year.
The consecutive win reinforces Affilka’s growing leadership in iGaming affiliate marketing software. Over the past 12 months, the product has consistently evolved, launching a series of powerful new features.
Among the recent updates is the Cross-Brand Player Duplicate Detection tool, which identifies overlapping player accounts across different casino brands within a single affiliate program. The platform also introduced the new Traffic Report, which provides real-time, click-to-registration and click-to-FTD metrics with multi-dimensional filters. Another new feature allows affiliates to access data on their marketing campaigns and tracking links directly via API, enabling automated data extraction and custom integrations.
At the end of last year, Affilka rolled out the Geo-Distributed Redirect feature, which boosts site visits by reducing redirect times from 1.5 seconds to 300–500 milliseconds, and the Cohort Analysis Report, which offers deeper insights into player behaviour.
Anastasia Borovaya, Head of Affilka by SOFTSWISS, commented on the recognition: “Winning this award two years in a row is an incredible achievement for our team. It reflects our hard work, creativity, and deep commitment to the continuing improvement of our platform. What makes this win special is knowing that the tools we build are already helping our partners solve real challenges. Whether refining traffic strategies or making smarter, data-driven decisions, we’re proud Affilka plays a part in their success.”
Thanks to ongoing updates and the introduction of new innovative features, Affilka by SOFTSWISS now supports over 450 brands, 400 thousand affiliate accounts, and 98 million player registrations.
Earlier in June, SOFTSWISS won two prestigious trophies at another EGR Ceremony – Marketing & Innovation Awards 2025. The company’s marketing department received the Marketing Team of the Year Award for its bold creative approach and effective use of new technologies and data analytics. In addition, Valentina Bagniya, CMO at SOFTSWISS, was named B2B Marketer of the Year for transforming the company’s marketing function into a powerful brand engine within the iGaming industry.
About SOFTSWISS
SOFTSWISS is an international technology company with over 15 years of experience developing innovative solutions for the iGaming industry. SOFTSWISS holds a number of gaming licences and provides comprehensive software for managing iGaming projects. The company’s product portfolio includes the Online Casino Platform, the Game Aggregator with over 30,000 casino games, the Affilka Affiliate Platform, the Sportsbook Software and the Jackpot Aggregator. In 2013, SOFTSWISS revolutionised the industry by introducing the world’s first Bitcoin-optimised online casino solution. The expert team counts over 2,000 employees.
The post Affilka by SOFTSWISS Wins at EGR B2B Awards for Second Year Running appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
WOWPartners, feeling that there might be not enough chill in the world, introduces their new brand Spinbara — fun, cheeky, and truly unbothered. The star of the show is a laid-back capybara with a love for sports, snacks, chicks, and slot wins. A spiritual cousin to The Dude (yes, we mean The Big Lebowski), Spinbara leads an unapologetically relaxed lifestyle — or, to put it simply, he’s chillin’ like a villain.
Built on KickerTech’s powerful platform and featuring over 65 top-tier providers, Spinbara combines top-notch sportsbook, live betting, virtuals, and casino entertainment with a distinctive brand voice that players will absolutely love.
This new WOWPartners’ brand isn’t just chill — it’s smart. With a full suite of gamification, tournaments, promos, and player retention tools, including cashback, reloads, and exclusive challenges, Spinbara is designed to keep players logging in.
A spokesperson for WOWPartners shares:
“Spinbara is our most relatable brand yet — he’s lazy, lovable, and just, you know, loves living a good life. Who doesn’t, right? Play lazy, win crazy, that’s the motto. We’ve paired this laid-back vibe with a top-shelf product and powerful engagement mechanics. The result is Spinbara, and we can’t wait for players to come chill with the Dude.”
In short, if you’re all about kicking back, playing your favourite games, and not taking life too seriously — Spinbara’s your kind of place.
Play lazy, win crazy!
For partnership opportunities and more information, contact [email protected].
The post WOWPartners Launches Spinbara: The Couch King of Spinning appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
S8UL has officially qualified for the grand finals in Apex Legends, , and EAFC 25 at EWC 2025, making it the first Indian esports organisation to represent the country at one of the world’s biggest esports tournaments. The organisation’s Chess stars Nihal Sarin and Aravindh Chithambaram will be competing in the Last Chance Qualifier from July 24 to 26, while EAFC player Aaron Rivera (Happy) will vie for one of the four remaining spots at the EWC in the FC Pro 25 Play-Ins.
Nipun Marya, CEO, iQOO, commented, “Esports in India is evolving rapidly, and we’re proud to strengthen our association with S8UL as they represent India on one of the biggest international stages. Our collaboration reflects iQOO’s focus on connecting with the performance centric community and supporting talent that’s redefining competitive gaming in India.”
Taking place from July 8 to August 24, the EWC 2025 features a record-breaking $70 million (approx. INR 598 crore) prize pool and hosts the world’s best talent across console, PC, and mobile titles. S8UL’s participation across different titles underscores the organization’s depth, diversity, and ambition.
The post iQOO Becomes Official Title Sponsor for S8UL’s Historic Esports World Cup 2025 campaign appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Affilka by SOFTSWISS Wins at EGR B2B Awards for Second Year Running
WOWPartners Launches Spinbara: The Couch King of Spinning
iQOO Becomes Official Title Sponsor for S8UL’s Historic Esports World Cup 2025 campaign
Felicity Appoints İlker Yoldaş to Lead Product Strategy
“Rock the Month”: Spinmatic’s monthly promos to power operator growth
BHA Initiates Campaign Against Tax Hike
Change of Chairmanship in the GGL Board of Directors as of 1 July 2025
Betsson Extends Partnership with Nordea Open – Sweden’s Premier Tennis Tournament on Clay
Eurojackpot Becomes New Official Sleeve Partner of AZ
FanDuel Casino’s New Creative Platform “Calling All Thrillionaires” Highlights Thrilling Experience of Playing on FanDuel Casino
-
Latest News3 months agoExclusive Q&A With Bar Konson, Chief Business Development Officer at NuxGame
-
Latest News2 months agoWeek 17/2025 slot games releases
-
Latest News2 months agoFortuna Partners with 2025 UEFA Under-21 EURO
-
Latest News3 months ago
Esports World Cup Foundation Confirms Full Game Lineup, Schedule, and Club Championship Rules for EWC 2025
-
Latest News2 months agoELA Games Receives Key Nomination at EGR Marketing & Innovation Awards
-
Latest News3 months ago
ACR POKER’S NEXT HIGH STAKES ADVENTURE TAKES PLAYERS TO MONTENEGRO FOR PRESTIGIOUS SUPER HIGH ROLLER SERIES
-
Latest News2 months agoBojoko.com Surpasses €100 Million in All-Time Deposits Milestone
-
Latest News2 months agoLeoVegas Group to Open a New Office in Leeds
You must be logged in to post a comment Login