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Russia’s Tigre de Cristal casino focuses more on working class gamblers
The Tigre de Cristal casino, located in Primorye gaming zone in Russia, is relying more on modest class customers for the majority of revenues than on VIP gamblers.
Summit Ascent Holdings, the Hong Kong-listed company that has a majority stake in Tigre de Cristal, reported a 2% increase year-on-year to HK$207.8m (US$26.5m) for the first quarter. But the adjusted earnings surged by 17% to HK$66.8m and overall profit increased to HK$2.6m from a loss of HK$5.4m in H1 2017.
The profit came even after the casino’s VIP gambling turnover decreased by 22.5% year-on-year to HK$6.5b in H1. The gross win was also down by 38.2% to HK$189m as win rate fell 0.74 points to 2.9%. After deducting VIP rebates, net VIP win was down 44.5% to HK$41m. It’s worth noting that the casino’s average number of VIP tables fell to 12 from 16 in H1 2017.
Summit Ascent Holdings said the slowdown in VIP revenues was anticipated. The casino had refused to succumb to the “increasing pressure” from VIP customers who demanded higher levels of rebates. The casino said no such requests and focused on developing its own ‘premium mass’ business.The casino’s mass market numbers appear to support this strategy, as mass table drop rose more than one-third to HK$348m and net win spiked 47.3% to HK$84m.
The slots business, which primarily caters to a local clientele, reported handle up 44.4% to HK$1.35b but a lower win rate kept slots revenue’s gain to 27% (HK$66m).
Tigre de Cristal’s average hotel occupancy was largely unchanged year-on-year at 76% on the weekends but just 45% on weekdays. Still, hotel revenue fell 22% to HK$17m due to fewer high-rolling clients.
Summit says it’s encouraged by the Primorye region’s rising foreign tourist visitation, which is growing at an annual rate of 33% over the past five years. At the end of H1, there were 50% more direct flights to the region than one year ago.
Summit says, it is currently refining the design and construction requirements of Tigre de Cristal’s Phase II, construction of which is expected to commence next spring with a targeted opening in “the latter half of 2020.” Phase II originally targeted a late-2019 opening but delays stemmed from alterations in financing and design options following “recent changes in substantial shareholders.”
Summit also says it is observed “an acceleration of building works” by other Primorye operators, including NagaCorp’s Naga Vladivostok and Diamond Fortune Holdings’ Selena project. Assuming these other operators continue at this accelerated pace, Summit says it may start to see the benefits of a “cluster effect” of casinos as early as 2021.
Source: calvinayre.com
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William Hill and Checkd Dev launch UK markets’ first fully automated pre-canned stats-powered Bet Builders
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Checkd Dev, part of the award-winning Checkd Group, has worked alongside William Hill to launch the UK betting industry’s first fully automated and pre-canned Bet Builders, delivering stats-backed, one-tap selections at both global and fixture level across all football fixtures.
Building on the initial launch in March this year of pre-canned accumulators for both football and horse racing, Checkd Dev is delighted to announce the evolution of that technical solution into the Bet Builder category.
Working closely with William Hill, the Automated ‘Trending Bets’ solution has evolved into a specific Bet Builder proposition utilising proprietary pricing from William Hill’s trading team to create football bets for their recreational customer base in the UK market.
The bets are easy to evaluate, backed by relevant contextual statistics, and can be generated at scale across all football fixtures, providing a simple one-click to bet slip step, which creates a significant time saving from manual Bet Builder creation.
Although pre-canned bets have been around for years, this new automated version delivers time-saving and cost-effective bet generation for bookmakers along with attractive betting opportunities for customers.
William Hill customers are presented with unique bets designed specifically for their recreational base, strengthening brand differentiation and protecting operator margin.
Once the operator sets up ‘parameters’ the automated back end engine continuously generates and refreshes curated Bet Builder options at scale. This removes the need for repetitive manual build and settlement hours, allowing William Hill’s traders to focus more time on price strategy and risk management.
Andrew Grimshaw, Commercial Director at Checkd Dev, said: “As the new football season really gets going, we’re proud to take our automation a step further, delivering a UK first in Bet Builder content with the William Hill team. The efficiency for trading and the ability to create global and fixture-level bets at true scale are second to none, and the result on the front end is a faster, more engaging journey for recreational customers.”
Tom Hargreaves, Head of Commercial – Football at William Hill, added: “This is yet another new product that William Hill has launched in a matter of months. We believe this demonstrates our commitment to putting the right products in front of our customers, making betting journeys easier and more fun.
“Together, William Hill and Checkd Dev are industrialising personalised Bet Builder content, combining operator-owned pricing with stats-led automation to improve customer experience and trading efficiency in one move.”
The post William Hill and Checkd Dev launch UK markets’ first fully automated pre-canned stats-powered Bet Builders appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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OpenSlots, a new AI creative platform for game development, has made its market debut, designed to empower operators, studios, and developers to build bespoke, high-quality titles faster and more efficiently than ever before.
The first iteration of OpenSlots has been launched for internal use by the team of experienced executives behind content aggregator and slot studio ESA Gaming, with it leveraging artificial intelligence to remove barriers to creativity and game delivery.
Expected for commercial release in mid-2026 the platform will enable non-technical professionals to design, test, and publish fully compliant slot games with intuitive, modular tools, without compromising on graphic quality or gameplay innovation.
Its simple interface will allow for aspiring game creators to input key specifications, such as theme, game type, mechanics, reel matrix, RTP and much more, before generating a game design document, concept art and publishing a game in a game editor for on-the-fly changes.
Customers are then able to gain access to ESA Gaming’s distribution network of more than 160 operators across regulated markets, to ensure rapid deployment to the end user.
With a leadership team bringing a wealth of experience in the sector and a product roadmap set to include more than 20 game types, multilingual support, and 100+ currencies, OpenSlots is poised for rapid global growth.
Thomas Smallwood, CCO at OpenSlots said: “We see OpenSlots as a game changer in the game development space. Our mission is straightforward in that we want to unlock creativity for non-technical professionals and empower operators and studios to create their own content quickly and easily.
“Our platform makes slot creation faster, more efficient, and conducted in an environment where success can be replicated at will. With the addition of the distribution network via ESA Gaming’s Game Aggregation System (GAS), we’re confident that OpenSlots can signal the next phase of game production.”
The post OpenSlots to power new dawn of content creation with AI development platform appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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GR8 Tech landed heavyweight wins on all fronts at SBC Summit 2025, taking home the prestigious Platform Provider of the Year award and drawing record-breaking crowds with its Heavyweight Club activation with Ready to Fight, which brought undisputed world champion Oleksandr Usyk to the summit floor.
Heavyweight Presence: Super Stage Panel and iGaming Influencers at GR8 Tech Booth
On the Super Stage, GR8 Tech and Ready to Fight held “The Heavyweight Playbook: Building Businesses That Perform When It Matters Most” panel discussion. Oleksandr Usyk opened up about discipline and trust in his team, while Kyrylo Korobka, Executive Director at Ready to Fight, emphasized the importance of data-driven preparation. Yevhen Krazhan, CSO at GR8 Tech, showed how the same principles apply to iGaming, where platforms must perform flawlessly under pressure.
“Whether it’s preparing for a championship fight or building an iGaming platform, excellence comes from systematic discipline, not just talent,” Yevhen Krazhan, CSO at GR8 Tech, said during the discussion.
Following the panel discussion, the punch machine challenge at GR8 Tech’s stand brought together influential industry leaders, creating one of the most talked-about activations of the entire Summit.
GR8 Tech’s CEO Oleksandr Feshchenko claimed the top score and Usyk’s signed gloves. However, given GR8 Tech’s partnership with Ready to Fight, the prize was never meant to stay in-house—instead going to the next highest scorer, Rasmus Sojmark, CEO and Founder of SBC Gaming, capturing the core of the Heavyweight Club philosophy: champions create champions.
Usyk’s appearance drew massive attention, driving a fivefold increase in traffic to the GR8 Tech stand—igniting new sales opportunities and sparking a surge of meaningful engagement with prospects and partners.
Platform for Champions: GR8 Tech Named Platform Provider of the Year
GR8 Tech capped off its heavyweight presence at SBC Summit 2025 by being named “Platform Provider of the Year” at the SBC Awards ceremony.
This prestigious recognition confirms what GR8 Tech has built: a true Platform for Champions that provides the unmatched performance, flexibility, and global infrastructure required for operators who refuse to settle for second place. The validation was echoed by exceptional demand and operator interest witnessed throughout the summit, with 200+ meetings demonstrating the industry’s appetite for champion-level solutions.
“The Heavyweight Club is built on performance, not promises. At SBC Summit, we showed that operators with the ambition to lead will find in GR8 Tech a partner that pushes them further, faster, and stronger—and winning Platform Provider of the Year proves it,” Sergey Ghazaryan, CRO at GR8 Tech, summed up.
GR8 Tech. Platform for Champions
GR8 Tech is an award-winning provider, delivering high-performance sportsbook and iGaming solutions that empower operators to lead and win in competitive markets. Key elements of GR8 Tech’s comprehensive portfolio include the Hyper Turnkey solution, ULTIM8 Sportsbook, Infinite Casino Aggregation, and a proprietary affiliate management platform, Aff.Tech.
With a geo-specific approach to solutions, a focus on practical innovations, and an operator-first mindset, GR8 Tech helps its clients achieve measurable results in their target markets quickly and efficiently. Trusted by top operators worldwide, GR8 Tech has over 100 successful cases and earned multiple recognitions, including the title of Platform Provider of the Year by SBC Awards 2025.
The post GR8 Tech Champions Every Round at SBC Summit appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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