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Gaming in Central and Eastern Europe in focus at #EGC2020VE with +10 industry experts from the region
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Central and Eastern Europe in focus at European Gaming Congress VE (Virtual Edition).
#EGC2020ve – The CEE gaming industry has been in the highlights of many media outlets and believe it or not there is always something big happening in this region.
In the Czech Republic: Just one week ago, Czech Lawmakers have voted in favor of a new decree to ban all electronic and mechanical gaming machines in the Czech capital. The decree awaits a nod from the city council.
If it gets the council’s approval, it will mean the end of all legal slot machines and video lottery terminals in the Czech capital once the current licensing period completes in 2024.
In Austria: The Austrian Financial Police have carried out a total of 278 inspections on suspected black-market gambling venues since January, resulting in the confiscation of over 660 gaming machines. Over half of the seized machines were found in Vienna, the capital city of Austria.
In a statement issued on July 28, Austria’s financial police set out the progress it has made this year towards a reduction in illegal gambling in the country. It made clear that the majority of illegal gambling activity is taking place in larger urban centers such as Vienna and Linz.
In rural areas, illegal gambling has been largely reduced – for example, in the states of Burgenland, Styria and Vorarlberg combined, only two devices have been found since January.
In Poland: The new figures published by Poland’s finance ministry have revealed that while the gambling revenue decline for the year to date, newly regulated products helped mitigate the falls in online betting and land-based gaming.
The gross gaming yield projections provided by H2 Gambling Capital revealed that the total for the year to June 11 is expected to fall 9.5% from 2019’s figures. This is significantly lower than the 19.6% decline projected across all EU markets.
Poland’s lower projected decline was due to the development of newly regulated verticals such as online casinos and land-based arcades. Online casino revenue grew 96.7% for the year to June 11, aided by growth from Totalizator Sportowy’s Total Casino site.
Also in Poland, ace football striker Robert Lewandowski has signed an investment deal with Movie Games, in a Polish manufacturer of sports-related video games, which has gained publicity during the coronavirus lockdown.
According to Movie Games, Lewandowski will become a shareholder in a company that is going to be started in launched by September to develop sports video games.
Lewandowski said in a statement released by Movie Games: “I see a huge potential in this segment.”
In Bulgaria: The National Revenue Agency (NRA) has officially assumed the power of regulating the gambling industry in Bulgaria. The country’s National Assembly passed a resolution to this effect last month. It replaces the State Commission on Gambling (SCG).
NRA Director Galya Dimitrova, who has the option to nominate a deputy to oversee the regulated gaming market, will be in charge of all proceedings.
The previous licenses will remain valid until they expire. NRA will process license applications and renewals within six months.
SGC was dismantled from the gambling regulation responsibility following several scandals, leading to the resignation of Chairman Alexander Georgiev in February after he was questioned in connection to an investigation into Vasil Bozhkov, owner of Bulgaria’s oldest betting operator, Eurofootball.
The is plenty of news to share about the Hungarian, Slovakian and Romanian gambling industry as well, but we will leave that to the professionals who will join the 3 special panel discussions at the virtual edition of European Gaming Congress 2020.
The virtual edition of European Gaming Congress 2020 is taking place between 6-7 October and gathers top names of the gaming industry who will present their insights to create Europe’s largest gaming compliance gathering.
THE EASY AND FREE REGISTRATION PROCESS IS SPONSORED BY ALTENAR AND YOU CAN REGISTER FOR FREE HERE!
The conference will cover +28 jurisdictions and you have the opportunity to dive into quality information about the CEE region via 3 special panels.
The “GAMING REPORT: CENTRAL EUROPE (PART ONE)” panel discussion will focus on the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Poland. The discussion will be moderated by Jakub Kolomicenko (Head of the legal department at Endorphina) and will be joined by Jan Rehola (Director at IFGR and Partner at PS Legal), Ewa Lejman-Widz (Head of Polish Desk at WH Partners), Anna Wietrzyńska-Ciołkowska (Legal advisor, Local Partner at DWF Poland), Jakub Myszkorowski (Chief Commercial Officer at STATSCORE) and Dr. Robert Skalina (Senior Advisor at WH Partners).
The “GAMING REPORT: CENTRAL EUROPE (PART TWO)” panel discussion will focus on Hungary and Slovenia under the moderation of Dr. Robert Skalina (Senior Advisor at WH Partners).
The discussion will be joined by Helembai Gabor (Attorney-at-law at Bird & Bird Hungary) and Jaka Repansek (Media and Gaming Expert, Partner at Hipther Agency).
The third panel discussion is going to focus on the updates from Romania and Bulgari and is titled “GAMING REPORT: EASTERN EUROPE”.
The discussion will be moderated by Ana-Maria Baciu (Managing Partner Simion & Baciu Law Firm) and will be joined by Dan Iliovici (Vice President of ROMBET – Romanian Gambling Organizers’ Association) and Georgi Dimitrov (Legal counsel at EGT Interactive Ltd).
You can find more details about the speakers’ and moderator bios below.
AS MENTIONED ABOVE THE EASY AND FREE REGISTRATION PROCESS IS SPONSORED BY ALTENAR AND YOU CAN REGISTER HERE NOW!
The HIPTHER FESTIVAL includes a full week of conferences that are designed to bring together innovation with compliance via several talks and discussions in multiple industries and will run between 5-9 October.
The festival includes the following conferences:
- PICANTE Marketing Summit (#MS2020ve) – 5 October
- European Gaming Congress (#EGC2020ve) – 6-7 October
- PICANTE TECH Conference Europe (#TCE2020AutumnVE) – 8-9 October
The registration is free and you can attend all three conferences with just one registration!
You can find more details about the Agenda here or you can register here!
For further inquiries about the speaking/sponsoring options, make sure to send an e-mail to Andrada Marginean (B2B Sales Executive at Hipther Agency) or subscribe to the weekly newsletter on the following link.
For media-related inquiries, please contact Alexandru Marginean (Marketing Specialist at Hipther Agency).
Ana-Maria Baciu – Managing Partner Simion & Baciu Law Firm
Ana-Maria Baciu is a regulatory and intellectual property lawyer, assisting clients in various industries, including gambling, IT, e-commerce or pharmaceuticals, for more than 20 years.
In the gaming field, Ana-Maria has been guiding betting & gaming companies, solution providers, marketing affiliates, other companies with an interest in this sector and industry-relevant associations, on the full range of regulatory and operational gaming aspects.
Ewa Lejman-Widz – Head of Polish Desk at WH Partners
Ewa is heading the Polish Desk of WH Partners as part of the strategic partnership under the WH Partners brand with Izabella Żyglicka and Partners, a very well reputed full-service law firm in Poland and a member of Ally Law.
Ewa is a business lawyer with over 12 years of experience. She assists clients on matters related to gaming and gambling, contract law, M&A and IT service market law.
Anna Wietrzyńska-Ciołkowska – Legal advisor, Local Partner at DWF Poland
Anna Wietrzyńska-Ciołkowska is a corporate lawyer dealing with M&A transactions focused on the gambling and insurance sectors.
She advises clients from the gambling sector on setting up a business and obtaining a permit to run a gambling business in Poland, providing gambling services to Polish residents from other jurisdictions, organising promotional lotteries, organising betting transactions, distributing gaming machines, gambling components in computer games or lotteries, acquiring gambling companies and structuring cooperation between partners in such companies, outsourcing of gambling functions, restrictions on making payments or advertising activities in gambling, as well as matters related to gambling tax.
Jan Řehola – Director at IFGR and Partner at PS Legal
Jan Řehola has over eight years of experience in the gambling field, both from the public and private sector.
He holds a Master’s of Law from Charles University in Prague. Jan worked for four years for the Ministry of Finance – the Czech gambling regulator; firstly, as a Head of the Legal Unit and later, as a Director of Gambling Department. In his work for the Czech gambling regulator, Jan was responsible for all gambling policy issues, including the drafting of new legislation, the issuing of gambling licenses and cooperation with other European regulators as a member of the European Commission Expert Group on Online Gambling.
After leaving the Ministry of Finance in 2014, Jan became a member of Petroš Sedláčková Legal and co-founder of the consultancy company BetOnSkill Consulting, a full-service international gaming consultancy.
Georgi Dimitrov – Legal Counsel / Compliance Manager at EGT Interactive
Georgi Dimitrov is a legal counsel at EGT Interactive Ltd., with a focus on legal, regulatory and technical compliance matters related to the iGaming industry. He specializes in international gambling regulation and provides guidance on licensing and certification frameworks, policy drafting, and compliance processes. His line of work involves communication with focal stakeholders in the business such as testing labs, regulators and operators.
Gábor Helembai – Senior Associate at Bird & Bird Budapest
Gábor is a Senior Associate in the Corporate and Commercial teams in the Budapest office of Bird & Bird. He advises on both domestic and cross-border transactions and investments in various industries. He has a special sector focus on gaming/betting, advising major online and land-based operators, and slot machine manufacturers on regulatory matters.
Dan Iliovici – Vice President of ROMBET – Romanian Gambling Organizers’ Association
Dan Iliovici is the Vice President of ROMBET – Romanian Gambling Organizers’ Association, one of the most important associations of the industry.
With rich experience in the gambling industry, former President of the Romanian gambling regulator – The National Gambling Office.
Dr. Robert Skalina – Senior Advisor at WH Partners
Robert Skalina is a Czech Advocate as well as a Registered European Lawyer in Malta. He is based in Prague and works in Malta regularly.
He is a financial service and corporate lawyer and provides advice to a wide range of investment managers, advisors and funds, including private equity and hedge funds. Robert also regularly advises clients in the gaming/gambling industries and has vast experience in the area of mergers and acquisitions and complex cross border transactions.
Jakub Myszkorowski – Chief Commercial Officer at STATSCORE
With more than 10 years of experience in the professional sport and betting industries, Jakub is now leading the Sales and Marketing operations at STATSCORE, a Polish company aiming at becoming the Biggest Sports Data Center in the world.
As a former football UEFA A coach and soccer performance analyst, he merges the best sports practices into managing the staff.
Jaka Repanšek – Media and Gaming Expert, Partner at Hipther Agency
Jaka has worked for various TIME (Telecom, Internet, Media, Entertainment) companies since 1996. He is recognized as one of the leading experts on gaming, media and digital law in Slovenia. Jaka graduated from the Faculty of Law at the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia and gained his graduate degree from Cambridge University in England and Faculty of Law in Ljubljana (Diploma in European Community Law) and completed two-year MBA graduate studies at the University of Kansas in the USA.
Jakub Kolomicenko – Head of the legal department at Endorphina
Jakub Kolomicenko started his practice as a corporate lawyer and member of the Czech Bar Association but then he changed his focus and as an in-house counsel specializes in IP law and all aspects of gaming law
He is currently the Head of the legal department at Endorphina and works with a team that consists of highly qualified international professionals with many years of experience in online casino games creation.
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: Gaming in Central and Eastern Europe in focus at #EGC2020VE with +10 industry experts from the region
The betting company Melbet has become a partner of the Turkish esports organization Eternal Fire. ET’s next tournament, featuring a new sponsor, will be the BLAST Bounty 2025 Season 1.
“We’re proud to partner with Eternal Fire. They’ve not just been part of Turkish CS history, they’ve written it. With Melbet behind them, we hope that Eternal Fire can reach even greater heights, deliver new victories for their fans, and showcase the passion for CS in Turkey,” said a Melbet representative.
The Melbet logo will be featured on the team’s jerseys and social media channels during game streams and other events as part of the partnership. Together with Melbet, EF players plan to host autograph sessions and other fan engagement activities.
Melbet will also help grow Eternal Fire’s massive FACEIT Club, which already boasts nearly 20,000 players.
Eternal Fire, one of Turkey’s biggest names in esports, is making waves on the global Counter-Strike scene. Ranked 13th by HLTV, they’ve had an amazing run, placing second at ESL Pro League Season 20 and making it to the PGL CS2 Major Copenhagen 2024 quarterfinals.
Melbet’s sponsorship of Eternal Fire extends beyond CS2, encompassing their entire PUBG roster.
The post Melbet and Eternal Fire have formed a new partnership appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Latest News
Pythia Sports partners with Betmaster to deliver comprehensive managed trading services for horse racing and greyhounds
Leading horse racing and sportsbook provider, Pythia Sports, has announced its latest client partnership with global sports betting operator Betmaster. The collaboration sees Betmaster go live with Pythia’s full managed trading services racing betting product, enhancing its offering for racing enthusiasts worldwide.
This partnership, which launched in December 2024, marks another milestone for Pythia Sports as it continues to expand its presence in the global racing industry. The agreement was facilitated in collaboration with Racing1 Markets by leveraging the racing packaged from Racing1, as well as the newly formed racing alliance from 1/ST Content, Arena Racing Company (ARC), Racecourse Media Group (RMG), and Tabcorp.
This gives Betmaster a 24/7 racing package in just one contract and one integration, further strengthening the ties between the racing ecosystem’s major stakeholders.
Betmaster’s adoption of Pythia’s managed trading services will provide its customers with a seamless horse racing experience for global meets across the UK and Ireland, as well as USA, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Japan, complete with expert pricing from Pythia.
Betmaster has further integrated select derivative markets with a full rollout expected later this year, alongside in-running betting.
Stephen Davison, Head of Commercial Operations at Pythia Sports, said: “We are delighted to partner with Betmaster to bring our state-of-the-art managed trading services to their platform. This partnership represents our commitment to delivering high-quality, innovative horse racing solutions to operators worldwide. We’re confident this launch will resonate with Betmaster’s customers and we are excited to see how horse racing and greyhounds can inspire growth at the company as they offer this proposition for the very first time as an operator.”
Jack Whitaker, Racing1 Markets spokesperson and Commercial Manager at ARC, said: “Racing1 Markets is all about making racing easy for customers that want a tier 1 product, with as little hassle as possible – our partnership with industry leading supplier Pythia Sports enables customers like Betmaster to receive exactly that. Betmaster, an existing brand across Ireland with global aspirations, are a perfect fit to align with Racing1 Markets’ goals.
Betmaster CPO Andrey Rozanov added: “Working with Pythia Sports as a part of the Racing1 Markets package is a game-changer for Betmaster. Their racing expertise and product set allows us to enhance our horse racing product, providing our customers with a comprehensive and dynamic betting experience. We’re thrilled to bring this product to market and look forward to seeing its impact play out as we approach the major racing events in the 2025 calendar.”
This agreement underscores the growing demand for robust horse racing solutions within the online sports betting industry and solidifies Pythia’s reputation as a trusted partner.
Pythia will be exhibiting its risk management service as part of the newly formed Racing1 partnership at ICE in Barcelona at Stand 5E38.
About Pythia Sports
Pythia Sports was established in 2014 with a focus on predictive sports modelling and data collection, primarily in racing. It works in partnership with data rights holders such as Arena Racing Company and Racecourse Media Group (RMG). It has recently worked with the latter to launch an in-play betting feed, for which Pythia provides the pricing to clients including William Hill, Ladbrokes, Coral and William Hill.
Pythia Sports has built a fully automated risk management service, encompassing fundamental pricing capabilities and advanced risk management algorithms. This has been designed as an end-to-end service for bookmakers, allowing them to offer a market-leading product with guaranteed returns and no operational overhead requirements. The product is fully customisable based on each client’s operational and trading requirements.
The post Pythia Sports partners with Betmaster to deliver comprehensive managed trading services for horse racing and greyhounds appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Bitblox, the disruptive provider behind popular crypto price prediction games Up or Down? and 3 in a Row, has announced it will receive an investment from YOLO Investments, an innovative venture capital firm with interests in blockchain and fintech.
YOLO has long been an admirer of Bitblox, with the group’s proprietary igaming platform solution, Hub88, being among the first to adopt the company’s innovative titles when it launched in the summer of 2024.
Bitblox games have since gone from strength-to-strength in the industry, with the company’s unique hybrid of skill-based games (SBGs) and games of chance attracting interest from both sports bettors and casino players alike.
Now boasting a portfolio that includes a sped up version of its flagship title, Up or Down? Turbo, and a more light-hearted game in Bitslap, Bitblox is set to make further in-roads in the igaming space over the coming months and already has a number of new releases in its pipeline for 2025.
The company’s ambitions will, of course, now be furthered by the additional support being supplied by YOLO Investments and both parties are optimistic about embarking on a mutually beneficial partnership that should help to bring crypto-based betting further into the mainstream.
Brandt Page, Chief Executive Officer at Bitblox, said: “YOLO Investments is a company with a proven track record for identifying opportunities in the cryptocurrency-focused igaming space, so we’re very happy to have received a huge vote of confidence from them in the form of this partnership.
“As one of the early adopters of our games on its Hub88 platform, Yolo has witnessed first hand the potential Bitblox titles have in driving engagement from both sports bettors and casino players and I’m confident with their backing, we’ll be able to achieve more great things in 2025.”
Klen Kaljulaid, Principal at YOLO Investments, said: “We value innovative products that break away from the traditional 3×3 reels so beloved by the industry. Bitblox games provide a sense of control, reminiscent of cash games. I particularly appreciate knowing that the results are tied to real-world price movements rather than relying on RNG. While I understand the future is inherently unpredictable, I can, at least in theory, hold onto the illusion of knowing where the market might move—and if proven right, take satisfaction in my understanding of market dynamics.”
The post Bitblox receives backing from YOLO Investments appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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