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Amateur esports events will soon overtake professional tournaments by budgets
Gamers have crashed a new gaming quest website: esports events are growing in popularity
Professional esports tournaments will soon begin to lose ground to amateur tournaments on budgets. The latter have more and more participants, and this attracts sponsors.
For example, the prize pool of the second season of Polish Esport Cup Summer 2021 is approximately $3,000; LPL Pro League Season 8 has $7,500. At the same time, EXTREMUM Digital Pass event has collected a prize pool of $20,000 and the number of participants is quite large – 50,000. The project has already been running for two months.
This is more than a tournament. There was created a large interactive quest for gamers of all categories. Not necessarily for professionals, and age is not so important.
For successfully completing virtual quests, players earn points that can be spent on real prizes in the DP store. The grand prize is a customizable gaming PC. Now the second season of the project is in full swing. It started on June 1 and will finish on July 25 (the first season was in 2020).
For the first time EXTREMUM brand held a similar quest back in 2019. But it was designed for a small number of users and lasted only 5 days. The event was timed to coincide with the announcement of the Dota 2 lineup, and despite the smaller scale, the project attracted the attention of users. Then the organizers realized that the community was eager for such activities – the gaming audience is mature enough to go beyond the usual formats.
That is why they switched to a wider format. In the first season, it paid off: the audience was 10,000. For such a scale, the developers had to write a huge system from scratch, as there were no similar IT solutions for organizing virtual events. After that, they fixed bugs and eliminated errors, listened to the audience, improved the general approach to the quest, etc.
This season EXTREMUM has not only increased its audience to 50,000 people but also went far beyond the CIS region and now 52% of the audience are English-speaking users. During this season users have already activated more than 1,000,000 game codes in the system.
And now it’s not just personal competition. In addition to individual tasks there are clan tasks. Participants join in groups, compete with each other (including in Dota 2 and CS:GO), socialize and make new friends. The number of some clans reaches 150 people.
The organizers didn’t expect the quest to cause such a stir. On average, a drop of 100 prizes is sold out in 5 seconds. During one of the drops the site went down: it couldn’t cope with the huge number of active users. The devs had to urgently expand the technical features of the website. This experience will be taken into account in the future.
Brands began to invest more actively in cyber events. Even at the start of the project, partnership requests kept coming in. Brands began to come to the understanding that the esports audience is now a serious community with broad interests and opportunities.
The final drop of the event will take place on July 25, which means that even new users have the opportunity to earn enough points to claim the grand prize. This point and drop mechanic is designed so that people can join the event at any time. To do this, you need to register on https://pass.extremum.gg/ and start completing tasks in your personal account area.
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Meridianbet Doubles Down on Belgium: New Casino License Unlocks €455m Market Segment
Editor’s Take
Why this matters: This is a classic “Cross-Sell” play. Meridianbet has already spent seven years building a sports betting database in Belgium. By securing this B+ license, they can now monetize those same users with higher-margin casino products (slots, table games) without needing to acquire new traffic from scratch. With the Belgian casino sector growing at 20% year-over-year, this is a significant revenue unlock for the GMGI portfolio.
The Full Story
Meridianbet, the sports betting and gaming operator owned by Golden Matrix Group Inc. (NASDAQ: GMGI), has successfully expanded its regulatory footprint in Europe by securing a B+ online gaming license in Belgium.
The new license (B+ 4016) authorizes the company to launch a comprehensive online casino platform—featuring slots, table games, and automated live games—starting in January 2026. This move significantly broadens the operator’s capabilities in the country, complementing its existing sports betting operations which have been active in the Belgian market for seven years.
Targeting the Largest Market Segment The strategic rationale behind the license is clear: Casino is now the dominant force in Belgian gambling. According to the Belgian Gaming Commission, the online casino vertical generated €455 million in Gross Gaming Revenue (GGR) in 2023, representing a 20.2% year-over-year increase.
By entering this vertical, Meridianbet gains access to the largest and fastest-growing segment of a market that generated a total of €944.6 million last year.
Tech-First Entry Meridianbet plans to deploy its proprietary AI Casino Recommender technology for the Belgian launch. This system analyzes player behavior and preferences in real-time to deliver personalized game suggestions, a crucial differentiator in a highly concentrated market where just ten operators account for 94% of all online wagers.
Regulatory Context Belgium is known for having one of Europe’s strictest regulatory frameworks, characterized by rigorous compliance standards and player protection protocols. Securing this license validates Meridianbet’s operational standards and deepens its foothold in a “mature” market that is notoriously difficult for new entrants to penetrate.
The post Meridianbet Doubles Down on Belgium: New Casino License Unlocks €455m Market Segment appeared first on Gaming and Gambling Industry Newsroom.
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LinkDataMedia Drops ‘Startup’ Look with Major 5th Anniversary Rebrand
Editor’s Take
Why this matters: In the iGaming affiliate space, the five-year mark is a critical survival threshold. Many media startups fade away before reaching it. LinkDataMedia’s decision to rebrand now is a classic “graduation” signal. By shedding their startup skin for a more corporate, “blue-chip” aesthetic (the stability-focused blue triangle), they are telling operators and partners that they are no longer just an affiliate project, but a stable infrastructure partner ready for larger commercial deals.
The Full Story
LinkDataMedia, the parent company behind the popular affiliate portal Gamblers Connect, has announced a comprehensive corporate rebrand to coincide with its fifth anniversary.
The overhaul includes a completely refreshed brand identity, a redesigned logo, and a fully revamped website, all of which are now live. The move is described by the company not as a mere cosmetic update, but as a strategic pivot designed to distance the business from its “startup roots” and reflect its current status as an established player in the competitive iGaming media landscape.
Visualizing Maturity The new visual language features a modernized blue triangular logo, a shape chosen to represent “stability and forward momentum.” The digital user experience has also been streamlined, offering partners a cleaner interface that aligns better with the company’s matured operational capabilities.
Management Commentary Gjorgje Ristikj, Founder and CEO of LinkDataMedia, commented on the significance of hitting the half-decade milestone in such a volatile industry:
“Surviving the first five years in business takes more than luck. It takes belief, resilience, and the right people around you. This milestone, and the rebrand, reflect exactly that.”
Implementation The new branding has already been deployed across the main corporate website and is currently being rolled out across LinkDataMedia’s social media channels and internal communication platforms. As the company enters its sixth year, the refreshed identity aims to set the stage for a new phase of expansion and innovation.
The post LinkDataMedia Drops ‘Startup’ Look with Major 5th Anniversary Rebrand appeared first on Gaming and Gambling Industry Newsroom.
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Win Systems to Debut New ‘Gold Club Colors’ and WIGOS Upgrades at ICE Barcelona
Editor’s Take
Why this matters: As ICE makes its historic move to Barcelona, established tech providers like Win Systems are under pressure to bring their “A-game” to the larger venue. The focus here isn’t just on cabinets; it’s the ecosystem. By highlighting WIGOS (their CMS) alongside WIN PAY, Win Systems is positioning itself as an infrastructure partner, not just a hardware supplier. The debut of the Gold Club Colors roulette specifically targets the growing demand for visually customizable electronic table games (ETGs).
The Full Story
Win Systems, the global provider of technology for the gaming and entertainment industry, has confirmed its product roadmap for ICE Barcelona 2026, the sector’s most significant international event taking place from January 19 to 21.
Exhibiting at Stand 3M30 at the Fira Barcelona Gran Via, the company will leverage the new venue to showcase a broad portfolio designed to cover the entire casino floor—from management systems to the gaming floor itself.
Systems and Fintech At the core of the showcase is WIGOS, the company’s flagship Casino Management System (CMS). WIGOS is widely recognized for connecting thousands of machines across multiple countries, and the Barcelona display will focus on advanced tools that streamline daily operations and optimize player retention.
Complementing the CMS, Win Systems will present WIN PAY, its secure transaction platform. As cashless and seamless payment solutions become standard requirements for operators, WIN PAY offers the necessary efficiency and security controls for modern gaming environments.
Hardware: Roulette and Slots On the hardware side, Win Systems is refreshing its electronic table game offering with the new Gold Club Colors electronic roulette. The Gold Club line has long been a staple in the company’s portfolio, known for its compact footprint and reliability; the “Colors” iteration promises to maximize visual impact on the floor.
Alongside the roulette, the company will display its latest slot hardware, including the Sublime and Rhapsody cabinets. These units are designed to house the company’s extensive game library, which has been adapted to suit diverse market profiles from Europe to Latin America.
Strategic Goals Win Systems aims to use the three-day event to reinforce its 30-year legacy in the industry. The company described its participation as a commitment to “continuous innovation,” inviting operators and regulators to explore how their integrated solutions can improve in-room performance.
The post Win Systems to Debut New ‘Gold Club Colors’ and WIGOS Upgrades at ICE Barcelona appeared first on Gaming and Gambling Industry Newsroom.
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