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OKTO appoints Simon Dorsen to lead gaming division
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OKTO Group, the financial technology provider specialising in innovative digital payment and player engagement applications, has appointed Simon Dorsen as Director of Gaming to consolidate its presence and drive its growth in the gaming industry.
Dorsen, supported by a growing team of gaming experts as the company expands, is joining with the vision to gamify the payment experience, and establishing OKTO as the true player’s wallet.
Dedicated to driving player engagement and retention through intelligent and fully digital solutions, OKTO was founded on the vision of leveraging the best of the payment industry’s technology, while bridging the gap between financial services and gaming.
Dorsen’s appointment brings a wealth of industry knowledge to OKTO after 16 years in both the gaming and payment sectors. He previously held senior roles with Trustly, GTECH and IGT, where he established the company’s first omni-channel sales team, and has a strong background in commercial development, strategy and project management.
With a fully licensed, omni-channel fintech environment spanning payment services, mobile applications and consumer networks, OKTO has processed transactions reaching up to €1 billion, while directly operating an established network of 5,000 points of sale across jurisdictions.
Filippos Antonopoulos, Co-Founder of OKTO said:
“Simon is an industry veteran with a gamer’s heart and the entrepreneurial spirit to drive growth and positive disruption in our industry. We welcome him with delight.
“We have been tailoring our market-leading payments and financial ecosystem to the gaming industry to provide a full-service payments and fintech model. Simon’s proven ability across a wide range of well-known gaming suppliers and operators, as well as his deep understanding of the technology behind it, makes him a perfect fit.
“I firmly believe that he will play a major role in successfully growing our Gaming business.”
Simon Dorsen, Director of Gaming at OKTO added:
“I am thrilled to join OKTO and I’m confident that my skills and experience, along with the company’s innovative payments technology and player engagement services will prove to be revolutionary for the industry.
“In the months’ ahead, we will be launching a new range of mobile and fintech solutions to the industry and its players and look forward to meeting the industry at gaming shows around the globe starting this July, while keeping everyone tuned in for more news and announcements shortly”
Source: Latest News on European Gaming Media Network
This is a Syndicated News piece. Photo credits or photo sources can be found on the source article: OKTO appoints Simon Dorsen to lead gaming division

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New ESRI Research Commissioned by the GRAI Suggests Gambling Offers Lure People to Bet More, Particularly People at Risk of Problem Gambling
A new study commissioned by the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland (GRAI) /Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration and undertaken by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) shows that betting and gambling companies offering special offers or inducements encourages people to gamble more than they would otherwise, even when the odds offered are “bad”.
Special offers or inducements, such as free bets and moneyback guarantees are regularly used by gambling companies in their marketing campaigns. The study found that vulnerable people such as those at higher risk of becoming problem gamblers, were most at risk of gambling more, and losing more, as a result of being offered inducements.
In a controlled experiment run with a sample of 622 men under 40, participants, were given money to place up to six realistic bets on the Euro 2024 football tournament.
Half of the participants were randomly selected and shown offers of free bets and moneyback guarantees on some bets. which caused these participants to spend over 10% more than those who were not given inducements. The inducements also reduced the number of participants opting not to bet by nearly half. Even inducement bets that were designed as “bad”, showing odds far below market rates, were undertaken by participants in this group, who were three times more likely to spend money on “bad” bets.
These findings illustrate the harm inducements cause, particularly to those who are susceptible to gambling harm.
Under the Gambling Regulation Act 2024, the legislation which underpins the work of the GRAI, inducements or encouragement to gamble further will soon be an offence and licensed operators will no longer be allowed to offer free bets which are targeted at individuals and specific groups. Multiple European countries have also begun to regulate inducements.
Participants were surveyed after the study on their knowledge and understanding of inducements. Even amongst regular betters, most did not know that there were restrictions on free bets and that they would not receive their stake back if they won a free bet.
Paul Quinn, Chairperson of the GRAI, said: “I very much welcome this research from the ESRI examining the impact of inducements to gamble on gambling behaviours. Having a clear evidence base is critically important to the GRAI as we commence our work in regulating the gambling industry. This latest research will help inform that work and in educating the public on this matter.
“This study clearly indicates the damaging effect of certain practices around inducements. It underlines the importance of the provisions of the Gambling Regulation Act in limiting a person’s exposure to inducements to gamble. We look forward to working with Minister O’Callaghan in addressing the issue as we implement the new regulations.”
Anne Marie Caulfield, CEO of the GRAI, said: “The ESRI’s findings confirm that not only is the general public not aware of the dangers associated with inducements to bet, but also that the impact of these inducements go beyond simple marketing by betting companies.
“It is our responsibility to ensure that gambling operators do not encourage excessive or compulsive gambling behaviour, and that we protect vulnerable people in our society, such as children and young people and those more likely to experience gambling harm.
“The Gambling Regulation Act 2024 sets out obligations for licensees in the way in which inducements can be offered, including a ban on targeted inducements, and the findings of this study affirm these measures.”
Diarmaid Ó Ceallaigh, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Behavioural Research Unit, ESRI, said: “Our findings imply that gambling offers aren’t merely marketing tools, but pose a real risk of financial harm, particularly among vulnerable groups.
“The results support the case for stricter regulation of gambling offers in Ireland, following steps already taken in other European countries, such as banning sign-up bonuses, restricting offers to at-risk individuals, and capping their value.”
The post New ESRI Research Commissioned by the GRAI Suggests Gambling Offers Lure People to Bet More, Particularly People at Risk of Problem Gambling appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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Flows welcomes Opti-X to its client Marketplace
Flows, the no code automation platform driving faster product delivery for businesses globally, has added Opti-X, Optimove’s Digital Experience Platform for faster time-to-conversion and higher customer lifetime value, to its Marketplace. Optimove is the creator of Positionless Marketing, and the and the #1 Player Engagement Platform in iGaming.
The marketplace addition highlights the next chapter in the partnership between the two companies, giving operators more ways to deliver real-time, personalised experiences that adapt to the needs of every player. Opti-X helps operators tailor content and experiences to reflect the preferences, behaviours and needs of each individual player. Powered by AI, it supports marketing teams in delivering more relevant messaging based on where a player is in their journey.
The strengthened partnership between Flows and Optimove unlocks enhanced ways for operators to connect systems that don’t naturally work together. Through Flows’ orchestration and integration layer, clients utilising Optimove can now gain instant access to Opti-X, enabling their teams to trigger personalised campaigns using real-time behaviours, internal logic or enriched data from across their tech stack. The result is a faster, more flexible way to build and launch new features and experiences without dependency on developers.
Daniel de Souza, VP Commercial at Flows, said: “Having worked at both Optimove and Flows, I can see the tangible benefits of connecting these tools. Operators gain greater flexibility to create personalised, fully connected experiences, driven by the power of Opti-X within the Flows ecosystem. The Opti-X platform is a powerful system, but when combined with Flows spin by spin level of data, operators can activate different strategies in real-time data. This will give the product teams freedom to move faster, smarter and bring more meaningful experiences to the end customer.”
Matthew Gilbery, Director of Personalisation, said: “The real winners are iGaming operator marketing teams. Flows adds a powerful layer of agility to personalisation by connecting data, systems, and logic in real-time. Through its integration with Opti-X, marketing teams can launch hyper-personalised player experiences instantly, without relying on developers. This collaboration brings the power of Positionless Marketing to life enabling teams to move faster, adapt quickly, and deliver campaigns that truly reflect each player’s needs. We’re truly excited about the possibilities this partnership unlocks.”
The post Flows welcomes Opti-X to its client Marketplace appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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VNLOK Calls for Strict Action Against Illegal Providers and Balanced Approach to Gambling Regulation
The latest impact assessment by the Dutch Gaming Authority (KSA) shows that players on the legal market are increasingly being protected. Since the introduction of new playing limits and duty of care rules on 1 October 2024, fewer players are setting high limits and losing smaller amounts.
The number of accounts losing €1000 or more has dropped by over 75% to 0.9%. At the same time, the number of accounts per player remains stable (an average of 2.4 accounts per player). The so-called “hopping” behaviour between legal providers is therefore absent.
There are, however, worrying signals about a further growing illegal market. The previous report of the KSA already showed that for every euro gambled online, Dutch people spend €0.50 on illegal gambling sites. Now it appears that since the introduction of the new rules, the average monthly search volumes for illegal gambling sites have increased by 23% to almost 1 million. VNLOK warns: the control and protection of vulnerable players will be lost in this way. While the legal market is strictly regulated, the illegal supply remains too easily accessible for vulnerable players.
Björn Fuchs, chairman of VNLOKs, said: “It is good that the new rules for players who gamble legally are effective. At the same time, we cannot close our eyes to the other half: the illegal market. It is precisely the players who wager the most money and vulnerable groups, such as minors and young adults, who seem to continue to find their way to the illegal supply. That is precisely the group that is most at risk.”
VNLOK emphasized that an excess of new regulations will have undesirable effects. Fuchs added: “If well-intentioned regulation is piled on top of regulation, this will drive more players to the illegal supply. That is where – without any form of supervision or protection – major problems arise.”
VNLOK has called for strict action against illegal providers and for a balanced approach to regulation: effective where necessary, but without unnecessarily hindering the player and the legal supply. VNLOK urges that all findings from the latest impact assessment must be taken into account when creating new rules.
The post VNLOK Calls for Strict Action Against Illegal Providers and Balanced Approach to Gambling Regulation appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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