Latest News

Roundtable – Continent 8’s Leaders and Legends

Published

3 years ago

August 11, 2022

Reading Time: 8 minutes

The Continent 8 Leaders and Legends series has been running for several years now, bringing together some of the industry’s biggest names to share their thoughts, insights and experiences on the hottest trends of the moment. The latest Leaders and Legends took place at the KPMG Gibraltar eSummit and saw heavyweights Shay Segev (Chief Executive Officer at DAZN), Joanne Whittaker (Chief Executive Officer at Betfred), Edo Haitin (Chief Executive Officer at Playtech Live) and Vaughan Lewis (Chief Strategy Officer at 888 Holdings) take to the stage to discuss a wide range of topics from the review of the UK Gambling Act to the future of retail in an increasingly digital world.

Moderator:

Micky Swindale – Partner, Global Gaming Team – KPMG

Panellists:

Edo Haitin – Chief Executive Officer – Playtech Live
Vaughan Lewis – Chief Strategy Officer – 888 Holdings
Shay Segev – Chief Executive Officer – DAZN
Joanne Whittaker – Chief Executive Officer – Betfred

MS: What changes do you expect to see as a result of the UK government’s review of the Gambling Act? What impact might tighter restrictions have on the market and how are you preparing for them?

JW: We just need to know what is coming. The review is hanging over us and we just need to be able to move on as an industry. We are agile, we evolve. We have heard some of the expected changes around slot stake limits, enhanced affordability checks, the levy and so on but until we know exactly what changes are coming, it is hard to properly prepare. Of course, as a business, we are trying to get ready for what is to come. I think initially there was a bit of panic, but we have got passed that now. We had a significant hit on retail when the FOBT legislation came in a few years ago, but we survived that and when I talk to Fred, he always says these legislative changes come in cycles. So, we are watching, we will respond, and I hope that we are given time to implement the technology changes that will be required. But right now, it’s just a case of wait and see.

VL: I think getting the line right as to where gambling tips over from personalisation, enjoyment and the promotion of great products and offers into something that becomes exploitative is the really challenging area that the review of the Gambling Act is trying to address. For us, we just want clarity about what are the standards that we need to meet. Once operators have that clarity, we then back ourselves to be able to provide a great player experience but with high levels of safety and within the standards set. At the moment, we are not clear on what standards we are trying to meet so our hope is that through the review process we get that clarity. Once any changes from the review have been implemented, we can then refocus on delivering the best player experience.

EH: Coming from the provider side, my perspective is perhaps a bit different. I believe that it is in the product to solve issues around responsible gambling and affordability and to deliver the right player experience. This also needs to be done in a way that the regulator can see that the player is doing so within their affordability. So, it is our responsibility as a provider to give our operators the products to do this. On the flip side, and especially as a big provider, I do feel for smaller businesses as the bar for entry into the market is being set even higher. So, regulators should bear in mind that there are companies making their first move that do need clarity and guidance as to what is expected of them.

ML: All jurisdictions, including Gibraltar, are having to quickly adapt to market changes. But what makes Gibraltar such an appealing jurisdiction to companies such as DAZN?

SS: We recently announced that DAZN would be going into betting with the launch of DAZN Bet and that we would be using Gibraltar as the hub for that. Having personally been based in Gibraltar for the last ten years I have found the jurisdiction to be amazing both in terms of the government’s support for the industry and the infrastructure it has provided, as well as the ability to establish a business here. It is also highly respected in terms of its regulatory framework and standards, and the talent that can be accessed here is second to none. This made it a very easy decision for us to set up DAZN Bet in Gibraltar.

MS: As the industry continues to grow, we have seen a real wave of M&A activity crash over the sector. With no sign of these mega deals slowing down, is now the right time for smaller businesses to position themselves for a takeover? And what makes for an attractive acquisition target?

VL: We are not seeing any slowdown in the trend of mega transactions. We have been through multiple waves of M&A and deals just keep getting bigger and bigger. We just closed a £2bn transaction but that now seems relatively small. Just before Christmas, Flutter undertook a £2bn acquisition and didn’t even have an investor call to explain it, it’s kind of like a bolt-on for them now. And then a few weeks ago you have the MGM takeover of LeoVegas, which it called “bite-size”. We are definitely in a new phase of the industry where these huge businesses have been created and significant value has been generated, and that is starting to really drive the M&A cycle.

At the medium and smaller end, we are still seeing a lot of activity. These transactions often have one or more characteristics that they share including unique products and content that you just can’t get elsewhere or that you can’t create quickly enough, market access, media convergence and other attributes that drive outsized value. This is where the future focus of M&A will be.

MS: The big four operators now account for more than 50% of the UK market share, so these companies can leverage the advantages of scale. But what impact does this have on consumer choice?

EH: We are an entertainment business, and the future of entertainment cannot be controlled by big companies. We see today that the biggest entertainers in the world are individuals that pick up their smartphones and cameras and stream videos on YouTube to tens of millions of followers. That makes them the big force in entertainment. I understand why companies undertake M&A and want to drive scale, but will this stop other businesses from entering the industry, I don’t think so. The nature of entertainment is so fluid that what is popular now will be different in five years’ time and we will most likely consume it differently. Once you work with video and content, you really pay attention to this and when we look at the market and what is in front of us, we see our immediate rivals but also those on the sidelines of the industry. Consolidation might block the immediate entry for some companies, but I do not believe that it will block the variety and versatility of the products that are offered to players.

SS: I think we might also see consolidation between industries with new experiences coming in. Where betting and gaming were perhaps seen as unethical just a few years ago, big businesses from outside of the sector are undoubtedly now looking at it. I think the US opening up has changed perceptions, too. For example, ESPN and Disney have indicated they are considering betting as a potential market for them to explore.

MS: The industry is expanding internationally with new jurisdictions embracing licensing and regulation all of the time. But with most taking a state-by-state or province-by-province approach, just how tough is it for operators to be truly global?

VL: If you were to ask all operators and suppliers if you could wave a magic wand and have harmonised rules across the world, I think the vast majority would say that is the dream scenario. It would enable us to really focus on product innovation and development, player protection and ultimately creating a much better consumer experience rather than having to spend time tailoring the platform for each market. We are one of the few operators that have a global, scalable platform that can run in multiple jurisdictions, but we have to tailor that to each market. If you look at the US, the investment we have to put into each state to meet the local tax and disclosure regulations sucks up a lot of time and diverts resources away from other areas that could be much more productive in terms of making great products and really looking after players. The more we can move towards standardised approaches, especially in the area of player protection, the better it will be for all stakeholders.

EH: Any company that wants to enter regulated markets such as the UK really needs to have a strong compliance team in place. This team is not there to scare you but to give you direction when it comes to developing products within the guidelines set. For us, one of the biggest challenges in the US is that we have to create a dedicated studio in each of the states that we enter based on the Wire Act of 1961. At the time I couldn’t understand why we could not just build one studio, but now we are up and running I see it as a good barrier to the competition. Really, you need to embrace regulation and understand the meaning behind it, even if you do not agree with it. For us as a live casino provider business, having to create a studio in each of the states we target is not optimal. But if you can understand the playground you are in and cater to that culture, it is possible to succeed.

MS: In all of our talk about online, are we losing sight of the land-based punter? Is it true that once they have gone online, they will never come back to retail betting?

JW: During Covid, it was a real fear for our business. Our retail shops were forced to close which saw our online business grow significantly but now restrictions have been lifted we have seen retail fully bounce back. We are really pleased with how the high street is performing and we can see that our customers are enjoying the betting shop experience and especially the social element. Long may that continue.

SS: You can’t ignore that betting shops are more part of the past than the future of the industry. I do think there is an opportunity to reinvent the betting shop experience, which some operators are doing with things like self-service betting terminals. There is something there but, clearly, it is not on the rise and consumers are transitioning to digital. That said, there is room to create something synergistic between retail and online.

JW: I agree there will not be new betting shops coming but at the turnover level customers are returning and they want to come to the shop. Our digital business has normalised, but we are in a much stronger position than we were pre-Covid. There is a place for the high street; I believe in SSBT and omnichannel but customers still want to come into the retail environment. We are also seeing this in other territories. In our US business, the retail performance is strong in the casinos where we have partnerships and in South Africa, we have a significant retail presence, too, although it is a very different retail offering with a much bigger footprint with 30-40 tills. I understand the importance of digital, but retail will survive.

VL: As an industry, we do not do a great job of standing up and talking about the value of the products we are selling. Retail is back to where it was post-pandemic because people love it, and they go to the shops because it is a fun thing to do. It is similar to the convergence of media and online, so long as we are providing something of value to consumers then that’s great. I think we should be proud of the service and entertainment we provide and for me, retail betting still provides a huge amount of enjoyment for customers. Betting shops never really went away, they just had to close due to the pandemic and they remain a core part of the industry.

EH: I’m going to take the middle ground here. Retail is back and I think part of the reason why players are enjoying going to betting shops is that it was taken away from them for a long time. But I do agree with Shay that reinventing betting shops is an important thing. This includes self-service and other experiences that will drive people to retail as well as online. As a live provider, we are often asked if we are cannibalising land-based by my answer is always no. We are an extension of the business, and I don’t believe we can really replace the experience of going to a casino.

Latest News

Kiosk Manufacturer Says Long-Term Hardware Strategy with ASUS Softened Impact of Chip Shortages and Tariff Volatility

Published

9 hours ago

December 2, 2025

George Miller

Reading Time: 2 minutes

KT Group today revealed how a long-term decision to standardise its kiosk computing platform on ASUS Industrial Solutions helped the company avoid the worst effects of global manufacturing instability over the past several years.

As supply chains across the world struggled with chipset shortages, fluctuating tariffs, and unpredictable component lifecycles, KT Group says its 15-year partnership with ASUS provided rare continuity in a volatile market – enabling the company to maintain production, stabilize costs, and support global betting operators without disruption.

Planning for Stability Before Instability Hit

KT Group first selected ASUS as its computing partner when it expanded into retail betting kiosks in 2012. What began as an engineering-led decision quickly evolved into a strategic advantage.

“Looking back, standardising our platform on ASUS started as a technical choice, but quickly became a business resilience decision,” said Kenneth Larsen, CEO at KT Group. “When the rest of the industry was scrambling for components, we were able to stay consistent, predictable, and ahead of demand.”

During the height of global shortages, KT Group maintained uninterrupted production of its Whizz Betting Kiosks, now deployed across major operators worldwide.

According to KT Group, the long-term benefits weren’t only operational. The company reports measurable improvements after standardising on ASUS, including reduced failure rates, fewer thermal-related issues, and lower total cost of ownership for operators. “Our stability has given us supply confidence at a time when many businesses have none.”

Why the ASUS Partnership Made a Difference

KT Group attributes its stability during volatile periods to several key factors embedded in ASUS’ industrial offering:

Long-term product availability that prevented forced redesigns when other vendors faced abrupt EOL cycles
Global manufacturing scale that provided insulation against chipset scarcity
Predictable procurement pricing, helping KT Group absorb global tariff swings
Consistent BIOS and component stability, allowing multiple kiosk models to run on a unified computing platform
Worldwide support and RMA coverage, reducing downtime for operators across regions

Larsen explains: “These factors enabled us to keep delivering new kiosks and servicing existing deployments, while competitors faced delays lasting months.”

Building on a Foundation of Continuity

KT Group says its partnership with ASUS will remain a central part of its roadmap as the company expands its kiosk footprint across Europe, Africa, the US, and Asia.

“The past few years proved how vital long-term thinking is,” said Larsen. “ASUS has become a strategic partner, not just a supplier – and that stability has directly supported our ability to scale.”

The post Kiosk Manufacturer Says Long-Term Hardware Strategy with ASUS Softened Impact of Chip Shortages and Tariff Volatility appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

Latest News

Hyperlocal vs. Global: Is the Future of iGaming in Deep-Market Strategy?

Published

16 hours ago

December 2, 2025

George Miller

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Itai Zak, Executive Director of iGaming at Digicode and former CEO of SBTech, the tier-one sportsbook and technology provider acquired by DraftKings in 2019, also serves as CEO of Gemstone Interactive, a boutique solutions partner for iGaming operators. A veteran executive and long-time advocate of player-first innovation, he offers a sharp look into the future of iGaming. With a history of guiding major brands through expansion and transformation, Zak is not someone who follows trends for the sake of activity. In his view, the real battleground for long-term growth is not how many markets an operator enters but how deeply they engage in the ones they already serve. His question to operators is direct and strategic: Where are you truly winning, and why?

Let’s explore the deep-market strategy powering sustainable growth, blending financial realism, adaptive tech, and real-time personalization into a focused vision that favors precision over presence.

Why Global-First Is Losing Ground

Just a few years ago, a successful operator was often defined by their geographic footprint. Launching in multiple regions created the illusion of momentum. But today, market saturation, regulatory fragmentation, and rising player expectations are exposing the limitations of this model.

Itai Zak explains that, “Europe was once a centralized opportunity. Today, it’s ten different countries with ten different frameworks.” From a compliance and cost perspective, this has created operational bottlenecks. Each jurisdiction now requires bespoke workflows, regulatory reporting, responsible gaming oversight, and even tailored user experiences.

Worse, players have evolved. A “universal” interface or product no longer works across markets. In emerging territories such as Brazil and India, success depends heavily on how well an operator adapts to cultural preferences, local payment systems, and region-specific content.

The Rise of Deep-Market Strategy

What we’re witnessing is a strategic shift from volume-based growth to depth-based dominance. There are 4 main drivers behind this pivot:

1. Fragmented Regulation Requires Granular Commitment

The days of a single gaming license acting as a passport are over. Today, compliance is not just about legality; it’s about infrastructure. Operators must build and maintain localized compliance engines to keep up with rapidly evolving standards. “What works in Sweden will likely fail in the Netherlands. Operators need dedicated regulatory teams per region.”

2. Player Experience Is Hyperlocal by Default

Consumer expectations are shaped by local context. Nordic players prefer richer desktop UIs and immersive casino features. In contrast, Indian players expect mobile-first simplicity and local payment flows like UPI. LATAM regions are seeing explosive growth, but only for operators who integrate payment rails like PIX and deliver Spanish/Portuguese-tailored content.

Uniformity no longer means scalability; it means irrelevance.

3. Efficiency Beats Vanity Expansion

There’s a growing recognition that it’s better to be exceptional in one market than average in many. Deep-market strategy prioritizes:

Higher Lifetime Value (LTV)
Increased retention
Lower Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)
Improved regulatory predictability

4. Retention Is the New Growth Lever

Global growth might bring short-term user acquisition, but retention requires local trust, familiarity, and relevance. The deeper your market understanding, the more likely you are to convert players into loyal customers.

Is Global Expansion Dead?

Not quite. What’s emerging is a hybrid model – global infrastructure combined with hyperlocal execution.

Basically, this dual-layered approach is “a shared chassis with localized controls.” Operators need scalable back-end platforms – compliance engines, CRM systems, bonus engines, but allow for front-end freedom. Local marketing, payment, and content teams execute based on what actually works on the ground.

In practice, this means:

Platform consistency at the core (RGS, risk, KYC, CRM)
Market-specific UX/UI, payment flows, and offers
Country-level dashboards to monitor local KPIs
Flexible brand architecture to launch sub-brands per market

Knowing When to Deepen vs. Expand

There is a straightforward framework to determine whether it’s time to grow outward or dig deeper:

Expand if:

You’ve fully optimized LTV in your current markets
Your infrastructure can absorb additional regulatory complexity
You have access to local partners or brands in the new region

Deepen if:

Your retention or conversion metrics are below industry benchmarks
There’s untapped potential in localized features or payment integrations
Local competitors are outperforming despite a smaller reach

This lens helps operators avoid reactive expansion and instead invest where sustainable growth is most likely.

The Digicode Approach: Local Autonomy, Central Control

At Digicode, we’ve seen this shift firsthand. The operator clients are no longer asking for “just another multilingual skin.” They’re asking for:

Modular platforms that can launch and manage multiple brands with independent rulesets
Configurable compliance per market
Local bonus engines that adapt to regulatory constraints
Player lifecycle tools tuned for cultural buying behavior

What powers this? Our ability to separate back-end scalability from front-end customization, giving operators speed, control, and precision as they go deeper into high-performing markets.

Final Thought: Strategy Is Local

The market is maturing. The future of iGaming isn’t about being everywhere, but being someone to someone in specific markets. The brands that win long-term will be those that go deeper than their competitors are willing to, speak to players with cultural fluency, and build infrastructure that adapts intelligently.

Itai Zak put it simply: “Don’t ask how many countries you’re in. Ask where you’re winning and why.”

If local precision is your next competitive edge, Digicode’s experts can help you deliver it without losing control of the big picture.

The post Hyperlocal vs. Global: Is the Future of iGaming in Deep-Market Strategy? appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

Latest News

Inside Black Cow’s Decision To Go All In On Multiplayer

Published

17 hours ago

December 2, 2025

George Miller

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Black Cow Technology Founder and CEO, Max Francis, on why the company has shifted focus from software development to game development, and why he believes multiplayer is the future of online gambling entertainment

Black Cow has just announced its transition into a multiplayer content provider. What made you refocus the business in such a way?

We truly believe that multiplayer is the future of online gambling entertainment, and with our own technology capable of building next-gen multiplayer experiences, we wanted to transition into a content-led business and release some innovative games of our own. Our Multiplayer RGS is especially powerful, allowing operators and suppliers to bring multiplayer gameplay to any game format, even including non-gambling events. Black Cow’s robust, reliable and highly flexible technology is already used by some of the biggest organisations in the industry, including the likes of DraftKings and Light & Wonder. The shift into creating our own multiplayer content enables us to build on our successful Remote Game Server (RGS) and Jackpot Server technology to create first-of-its kind games offering unique player experiences via our Multiplayer RGS platform.

Tell us more about your Multiplayer RGS and its capabilities. What sets it apart from similar solutions in the market?

Our Multiplayer RGS has been several years in the making and is already live with Light & Wonder. Our Multiplayer RGS can be used to create multiplayer experiences across anything from slots and table games to crash, plinko, lottery, live dealer and bingo. Games can be player-cooperative or player versus player. The system’s capabilities are really only limited by the imagination of the people using it, and that’s why we’re so excited to be moving into the realm of game development so that we can push its limits to disrupt online casino lobbies with Black Cow content.

Taking a business in a new direction is a significant undertaking, not without its risks. How have you approached this transition?

It was clear to me that we had the technology to create multiplayer content, but not necessarily the experience to date, and that’s why we’ve been making strategic hires. This year we have promoted Paul Jefferson to the role of Chief Technical Officer and we have welcomed two more big-hitters to the business – Ernie Lafky as Chief Product Officer and Shelley Hannah as Chief Operations Officer. Ernie is taking the lead when it comes to what our games will look like and how we combine key elements like multiplayer, gamification and social interaction. Shelley is managing the operational aspects of our transition to a hosted product-first model. In terms of mitigating the risk, it comes down to the deep rooted confidence we have in our technology and our fantastic team, plus our belief that players are seeking social multiplayer entertainment.

Why do you have such a firm belief that multiplayer content is the future? And to what extent will it dominate online casino game lobbies?

It’s not the future, it’s the now. You just have to look at the experiences offered by other online entertainment options to see that they are becoming increasingly multiplayer and social. From dating to streaming, social media to mobile gaming, consumers want to engage with products and experiences that can be enjoyed with others. But online casino and sports betting sit at odds with this as they have been, and remain, mostly solitary experiences. We have started to see a bit of a shift away from this, first with live casino and then the rise of the crash game format. But this is just the start of what multiplayer online gambling entertainment can look like, and at Black Cow we have the vision, people and technology to really spearhead the multiplayer movement and be a true leader in the space.

As for the degree to which multiplayer content will dominate online casino and sportsbook lobbies, I think it has the potential to be significant but there will always be players that want to engage with more traditional games, products and experiences, so it will be down to each operator as to how they promote multiplayer games. Naturally, this approach will differ from brand to brand based on their specific player-base.

What can we expect from Black Cow now that your transition into a multiplayer game developer is well underway?

Paul, Ernie, Shelley and the team are working hard on our initial product roadmap, including the first run of games that will leave our production line. This is a really exciting moment for me and the whole team, as it will bring our vision to life and set the blueprint for what our multiplayer games will look like moving forward. It goes without saying that our multiplayer games will embody the core values we have built Black Cow on – reliability, flexibility and robustness. This is a big change for Black Cow, and change does bring challenges. But we are all aligned and excited by the new direction. Success is never guaranteed, but we are walking into the next chapter of the Black Cow story confident that it will be our best yet.

The post Inside Black Cow’s Decision To Go All In On Multiplayer appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.