EEG Reports

Europe divided: East meets West

Published

10 years ago

February 12, 2015

What comes to your mind when you hear the phrase “East meets West”? A Tibetan monk who drives a Volkswagen? A Chinese teenager who flaunts the latest iPhone? Or an Indian politician with a Swiss bank account? Well, none of that concern this article. What you find here stay exclusively within the confines of Europe.

Is Eastern Europe – the communist ruled land of heinous villains and evil but love-struck blondes of Hollywood movies – catching up with Western Europe, which had practically controlled the world up until the first half of the previous century?

Origin of East-West divide

The divide has been there since the world invented stereotypes. It became more pronounced when the World Wars ended and the Cold War started. We live in an age in which the Marxism of the previous century increasingly resembles an Aesop fable. It could go like this.

Once upon a time, there lived two kinds of people: haves and have-nots. Some gentlemen – Messrs Marx, Lenin, Stalin, et al. – wanted to make everybody equal. They succeeded, brutally succeeded. They made half the continent have-nots. And that continent is Eastern Europe.

East vs West in Europe

The West still remains richer and more powerful in world politics. The divide is more of a cultural and political one than a geographical one. For an outsider, the entire Europe appears as a single country with nearly a single currency. A closer look would reveal the differences between East Europe and West Europe.

You may have heard about the West and the East stereotypes. Western Europeans are more efficient, cool, better organized and more disciplined in civic sense. They come out at birth better-packaged like the kind of smart phones that come with all the apps you need factory-installed. On the other hand, Eastern Europeans are a bit laid back, temperamental and not disciplined at all in civic matters. They are installed with an Operating System whose user manual was destroyed in the Communist era.

These are convenient classifications, but unfortunately not true. The only thing true in such stereotypes is perhaps this one: People trust their governments in the West, but in the East, people trust anything but their governments.

Goodbye, Lenin

One historical event should have heralded the beginning of the end of the East-West divide in Europe: the collapse of the Berlin Wall in 1989. Many thought it did. It did mark the end of Soviet-presided communist rule in Eastern Europe. However, hindsight tells us that nothing much has changed for the people of the former Communist bloc. You ask any Eastern European youngster in any big Western European city; say Amsterdam, Berlin or London. They would tell you of the subtle and not-so-subtle racist discrimination prevalent in these cities towards them.

Still, the first rays of a fresh dawn of hope have filtered into this region. No. Messrs Marx, Lenin and Stalin have nothing to do with it. Instead, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, and countless other digital revolutionaries have played, and are playing, a part in the ongoing process of bringing about a digital equality. It could change East Europe too and bring it to the fore and on par with West Europe.

Changing life, changing society

Now, the Eastern European societies and economies are in the process of covering the lost ground. Some countries may succeed, some may not.

The region still retains some inherent advantages. The cost of living is less in East Europe than in the West. What you earn is lower here, but what you have to spend is lower too. Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and Slovakia are ranked the lowest in a cost of living index.

The Eastern European countries have an advantage in tourism sector too. These countries are less explored and less exploited, and most of the naturally beautiful scenery is intact. Perhaps, it is time tourists started flowing into these parts.

East meets West?

East Europe is changing: culturally, politically and economically. They would have liked a faster economic growth. Traditional industries are still going strong in the West, but not so in the East. The situation is different in the case of new-age digital businesses, where the East has made a strong head start.

East Europe is still not able to look West Europe in the eye. The economic and cultural difference is too steep a hill to climb in a couple of decades. Nevertheless, they are climbing that steep hill – albeit with the crushing weight of a burdensome history on their back.

Someday, the East will have to meet the West. History, after all, has no favourites in geography.

Zoltan "Hawkie" Tundik

With an experience of over 8 years in the online gambling industry, as an affiliate, later affiliate manager and consultant, I consider myself a veteran of the industry and can guarantee that you will be served with the most accurate information.

Prague Gaming & TECH Summit 2025 (25-26 March)

Bulgaria

Casino Technology announces Valentina Dobre as new Regional Director for Romania

Published

7 years ago

August 4, 2017

Zoltan "Hawkie" Tundik

Gaming equipment manufacturer Casino Technology has announced a new appointment for Romania to further strengthen the company’s management.

Following its steady plan for continuous market growth, the company named Valentina Dobre as Regional Director for Romania as of 1st of August 2017.

The company claims with Mrs Dobre’s profound expertise, professional background and in-depth knowledge of the gaming industry in the country, she became part of Casino Technology team, ready to implement the overall corporate strategy.

Valentina Dobre commented: “I am honored to accept this position and be part of the high level management team of Casino Technology. I will pursue actively further company positioning and growth on the Romanian market. Casino Technology has been on the country’s market for over 10 years and proved to be leader, having maintained trusted partnerships with local operators and customers.”

Casino Technology stated that Mrs Dobre’s background as Member of the Board of Directors at Romslot Association, Bucharest will additionally increase the Casino Technology market share.

“Valentina Dobre is an important appointment as she brings extensive knowledge of the market, that will help us boost even more our presence in Romania. She will have a crucial role in our further expansion, launching successfully our new line products on the market”, concluded Milo Borissov, Founder, President and CEO of Casino Technology.

Bulgaria

Two major announcements from BEGE Expo and EEGS: Mark your calendars

Published

7 years ago

August 2, 2017

Zoltan "Hawkie" Tundik

The Balkan Entertainment & Gaming Expo (BEGE Expo) and the Eastern European Gaming Summit (EEGS) celebrate their 10^th anniversary this year. Due to the big interest for both events the organizers made two major announcements – BEGE will outspread in one more hall and EEGS will start one day earlier than the announced date.

Over 50 leading companies from the industry have already confirmed their presence for BEGE Expo 2017. Well-known leading manufacturers, amongst them being Novomatic, Casino Technology, EGT, Suzohapp, BetConstruct, Interblock, Merkur Gaming, APEX, Alfastreet Trade, Nsoft, JPL and CPI, as well as new participants, such as the leading sports betting company Bet3000 (IBA-Entertainment Ltd.), EXEFEED, Quixant, Zitro, Change Italia s.r.l., Gamebridge Casino Equipment, JCM Europe GmbH, nano Vo sp. Z o.o., Berkotech Kft. and others will exhibit their latest solutions at this year’s BEGE. The great interest for the event forced the opening of new hall, thus making the 10^th edition of BEGE Expo the biggest so far.

The registration is already open so you wouldn’t want to miss the chance to register.

Another newness that BEGE Expo 2017 will present is the special Affiliate zone. Following the expansion of the online business in the region, this year the exhibiton will create space for online operators and affiliates from the region to interact and create business partnerships. Affiliate program providers will be able to book their own space in the zone and all affiliates will be admitted for free.

EEGS also promises to reach new heights this year. Reschedule your calendars, because EEGS 2017 will start on 20^th of November – one day earlier than intended. This year’s EEGS will continue to follow its main aim – to present the most recent updates from the region, including the countries Serbia, Romania, Greece, Bulgaria, Albania, Slovenia, Montenegro, F.Y.R of Macedonia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Turkey and Croatia.

Separate sessions will be dedicated to Sport Challenges, Impact on gaming operators by Anti-Money Laundering Act, GDPR and online gaming. Day 3 will be focused on Tourism & Gaming, Responsible Gaming Academy and marketing topics.

BEGE Expo and EEGS have gradually established as a center for the gaming and entertainment industry in Eastern Europe and for 10^th year in a row will be the place where professionals from the field come in order to expand their business, exchange knowledge and promote new products. For any updates you may follow the official websites of the events: eegamingsummit.com and balkangamingexpo.com

EEG Reports

Habanero signs an outstanding deal with BBIN

Published

7 years ago

August 2, 2017

Zoltan "Hawkie" Tundik

A new partnership agreement will see content from quality slots and table games developer Habanero go live with the BBIN Group.

Under the agreement, the supplier will give the software company access to its complete product portfolio of HTML5 games for all of its white label sites.

Recent releases from Habanero, including Fire Rooster, Bird of Thunder, and Panda Panda, have also been made available to the aggregator.

Daniel Long, Head of Sales at Habanero, said the deal was a game-changer for the supplier and one of the company’s most important to date.

He added: “By partnering with BBIN, we have significantly expanded our presence around the world, which means even more players will be able to enjoy our games.

“Many of them will be a natural fit with BBIN’s customers, but it is the diversity and variety of content that will appeal the most.”

Habanero operates a stable of 75 video slots titles, 9 table games, and 50 video poker titles, which are integrated into over 45 operators and aggregators and available in 21 European and Asian languages.