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Exclusive Q&A with Phillip Runyan, Founder & CEO of Hold Gaming
Reading Time: 4 minutes
Let’s begin with a few words about yourself. It’s always great to hear confident, top-class professionals say something about themselves.
I refer to myself as the Chief Executive Risk Taker – not just at the helm of Hold Gaming, but in my day-to-day life. I’m fairly certain my wife has another name for it. If it’s unorthodox, off the beaten path, or considered ‘mad’ then I’m likely to be drawn to it. I think that internal need to try things in a different way is what has helped me find success in work and my personal life.
You talk about Hold Gaming’s “deep roots in the Midwest, an area long overlooked for talent and great ideas” and the resultant “underdog mentality”. Could you elaborate on that?
I grew up in Toledo, OH and recently returned, as many do, to be closer to family. I would not say that we have an abundance of tech in my hometown but what we lack in volume we make up in chutzpah. Like many others, I left when I was younger to pursue a life I didn’t think the region could support. That has all changed. I live in a state where you can pay for your taxes in bitcoin and that’s leading the way in autonomous driving. When I’m asked where Hold Gaming is located and I reply with “Ohio,” I typically get, “oh… ok that’s great” and I can hear the inflection in their voice battle with the words they are saying. Ohio has this stigma of being rural and certainly not where a gaming company would setup shop.
You started your corporate career as the Marketing head at DoubleDown Interactive where you were in charge of bringing in customers through social media, online branding and CRM initiatives and had spectacular success. What would be your main advice to online marketers, especially in the gaming and gambling industry, regarding customer acquisition and retention?
I’d say I started my career in gaming at DoubleDown Interactive. My core skillset of the last (gasp!) 18 years has been in Online Marketing and many of the tools and processes I incorporated at DoubleDown stemmed from selling a lot of product via the internet.
I would say my best advice is to stay flexible and never hesitate to pull the plug on things that don’t work. All too often we want a product, platform, channel, creative, or a cohort to work so badly that we will throw good money after bad. Cut your losses, learn from your mistakes, and get back to the drawing board. Dare I say, fail fast but fail forward.
You founded Hold Gaming about a year back. How was the going so far? Any significant milestones?
The first year is always terrifying and exciting, simultaneously. We’ve accomplished a lot with a skeleton crew and minimal resources considering we are a startup trying to disrupt a multi-billion dollar industry here in the US. As for milestones, I’d say being the first competitive casino game for cash prizes on Apple’s App Store is massive.
Could you tell us more about Blackjack Fire, the game that you launched recently? Our readers would be curious to understand how the game is skill based rather than chance based, especially it is the first skill-based Blackjack game.
Blackjack Fire is our first release and is live in the App Store in both the US and Australia. The game allows two or more competitors to sit at their own table, with the same starting balance, the same amount of time to play their decks of cards, and the same min/max wager amount. As players win hands wagered, the won amounts convert to points on a leaderboard. Once both players have completed their timed challenge, the points are tallied and the winner of the challenge receives the prize. This can be either of virtual currency (which we call Fire Chips) or actual cash, which ranges in prize amounts from $1.00 to $100.00 USD. On top of that we have leagues where competitors can earn more cash or Fire Chip prizes at the end of the month.
Gaming industry is fast becoming a crowded sector, with a lot of new initiatives and innovations coming up a rapid pace. How do you plan to stand out in the crowd?
It feels like the industry is hyper focused on sportsbook or casino floor gaming. While I love the innovation coming out of our competitors, I still believe that the best way to stand out and grab some serious market share is to reach people on their time: at work, at home, waiting to pick up their child from school… at their convenience. We want to consume those time slots and with our burst gaming model, we’re finding that’s exactly what is happening.
Everybody talks about social gaming and incorporating blockchain technology. What are the possibilities of developing a sustainable, feasible and profitable business model that blends social media and blockchain technology into the gaming sector? Is it going to happen in the near future? Or has it already happened?
Honestly, I don’t know how blockchain fits in with social. The idea of doling out transaction fees for free-to-play games sounds expensive, especially when 95% of those (social casino) gamers aren’t payers. We look at blockchain as an opportunity to ease concerns over fairness and to allow each player to see what the other did during their challenge. It’s not at the top of our to-do list, but it’s definitely on there.
The gaming industry has undergone a change in the USA over the last one year or so since the US Supreme Court lifted the blanket ban on sports betting. Do you see the country now emerging as the global hub of sports betting and gaming?
I’ve been so heads-down on the US market, I could only fancy a guess. I don’t know if we’ll dethrone APAC, but we should be comfortable at the #2 spot.
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: Exclusive Q&A with Phillip Runyan, Founder & CEO of Hold Gaming
RocketWisdom is one of RocketPlay’s most personal projects to date — an authentic digital book featuring over 100 real stories, rituals, and gaming habits shared by RocketPlay players. It began as a small internal effort to explore the fun side of play — how people enjoy their gaming moments and what small traditions make the experience special. It has since grown into a full eBook, now available for download.
What is RocketWisdom?
RocketWisdom is a compact, living digital book featuring 100+ stories, rituals, and personal gaming habits submitted by verified RocketPlay users. These aren’t polished guides — they’re human: lucky charms, timing bets, favourite slots, pre-spin habits, and little moments that make play unique.
RocketWisdom is more than a campaign — it’s a celebration of players’ creativity, shared fun, and community spirit.
Originally, players would periodically share their favourite gaming stories and rituals with the RocketPlay support team and on social media channels. The casino team got curious: what makes each player’s gaming moment their own? Are there funny traditions, habits, or superstitions behind the spins?
So they asked the community directly — and the response was overwhelming. More than 500 submissions arrived: many deeply personal, some playful, others describing family traditions or lucky moments. What started as a simple idea soon grew into a collection worth preserving, so RocketPlay gathered it into a book — first intended for an internal circle, but as more players asked to see it, RocketPlay decided to make RocketWisdom publicly available.
What’s inside
- 100+ real stories and rituals from players — from lucky charms to favourite slot routines
- Exclusive bonus code embedded in the book for instant testing
From 4.11, RocketWisdom can be downloaded directly from the RocketPlay website in two convenient formats — PDF and EPUB — making it easy for players to explore the collection from any device.
Why it matters
Today’s players expect more than chance — they want shared experience, creativity, and fun. RocketWisdom delivers inspiration, smiles, and connection for both seasoned spinners and newcomers.
For streamers and content creators, it offers authentic and entertaining material ideal for livestreams, reviews, and community challenges.
For operators and affiliates, player-driven storytelling helps build engagement and a more connected community.
Beyond being a book, RocketWisdom became a heartfelt celebration of creativity and playfulness shared by the RocketPlay community. Inside the book, readers will find promo codes that invite them to try selected games — closing the loop between inspiration, curiosity, and play.
RocketPlay is a trusted online casino with over 9,000 slots from top providers. Highly rated on CasinoGuru (9.8/10), AskGamblers (9.06/10), and Trustpilot (4.4/5), it’s recognized for its quality, fairness, and reliability. The platform holds trust certificates from Chipy.com, CasinoGuru, and AskGamblers, and offers regular bonuses, tournaments, and strong Responsible Gaming features.
Reading Time: < 1 minute
Orange Gaming B.V. has been granted a license by the Netherlands Gambling Authority to offer online casino games against the license holder in the Dutch market. With this milestone, Orange Gaming sets a clear course: safe, fair, and transparent online entertainment for Dutch players.
Petrit Dibrani, Director of Orange Gaming B.V., comments:
“We are a Dutch team with short communication lines and a down-to-earth mindset. My background in compliance forms the foundation of our decisions. We aim to go live soon, but we do so carefully and fully in line with all regulations. The Dutch market is demanding, with high taxes and strict limits, yet it also holds significant potential. That’s exactly why we focus on innovation, efficiency, and genuine attention to the player.”
Orange Gaming positions itself as an agile challenger among larger operators. Safer-play-by-design is embedded in all processes and communication. Limits, tools, and game rules are clearly explained, helping players stay in control and make conscious choices. The platform also includes several unique features that will be unveiled upon the website launch.
The post Orange Gaming B.V. obtains license to offer online casino games in the Netherlands appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Reading Time: 2 minutes
PropellerAds, one of the world’s leading advertising platforms, is proud to announce the official launch of the Chinese-language version of propellerads.com with native support team, marking a major step in its strategic expansion across East Asia. The announcement comes in response to growing regional demand for industry-leading advertising platforms specializing in high growth sectors, including gaming and e-commerce.
To mark the launch, a Chinese version of the PropellerAds website is now live, complete with full translation and a dedicated team of native-speaking experts to support Chinese-speaking clients. This has been complemented by an official WeChat channel where updates, insights, and company news updates will be shared directly with its Chinese-speaking audiences.
As a global market leader in digital advertising with 15 daily billion ad impressions across over 195 GEOs, PropellerAds brings over a decade of proven success to the Chinese market. Its deep expertise in performance-driven formats like Popunder, Push Notifications, and Telegram Mini Apps, has helped thousands of advertisers scale their campaigns worldwide. Now, Chinese-speaking clients can benefit directly from this global experience, expert support, and strategic tools tailored to their needs, empowering them to reach international audiences with precision and confidence.
“We’re excited to deepen our relationships in the Chinese market,” said Matvey Shmidt, Sales Director at PropellerAds.
“Our goal is to empower advertisers and partners in China with the tools, support, and insights they need to succeed globally. For the first time, Chinese clients can benefit from our global expertise while accessing a multisource advertising platform designed to local demands and needs.”
In addition to its established ad formats, PropellerAds continues to innovate with new channels such as Telegram Mini Apps, Survey Exit, and In-Page Push, providing advertisers with access to audiences and engagement opportunities. These formats expand the platform’s capabilities beyond traditional web placements, with brands reaching high-intent users across multiple ecosystems with precision targeting and performance-driven optimization.
PropellerAds recently made a successful appearance at China Joy, one of Asia’s largest digital entertainment expos, where the team connected with hundreds of partners and advertisers, and Global Traffic Conference in Shenzen. Looking ahead, PropellerAds will be attending GTC in Shanghai this November, continuing its mission to foster meaningful partnerships and drive innovation in the region.
Shmidt continued: “This launch reaffirms PropellerAds as a global leader in digital advertising, offering scalable solutions and localized support to help businesses grow across borders, with this being the first in a series of new launches we will be announcing in the region soon. We look forward to meeting our clients and speaking with interested clients at GTC in Shanghai.”
You can visit PropellerAds at stand B69, at GTC in Shanghai, on 5th and 6th of November.
The post PropellerAds launches localized platform in China appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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