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Why studios need to promote their games
Elliott Resnick, Head of First Look Games, says that due to the highly competitive nature of the industry studios need to get their games in front of players if they are to succeed in the long term
Slot studios are fighting for operator attention in a highly competitive marketplace. There are literally hundreds of developers pushing thousands of games with endless new titles launching every month. So being heard above the noise made by rivals is a vital key to success.
Developers also face fierce competition when it comes to directing players to their games. Operator lobbies are stocked with thousands of titles, with game positioning often the difference between whether a title sinks or swims.
But what if affiliates could not only fulfil their traditional objective of new traffic to operators but also drive awareness of a studio’s content and have players specifically look for the game regardless of where they are positioned in casino lobbies?
To do this, studios must promote their games to players as well as operators, but that isn’t easy given developers take a small proportion of the revenues made on their slots. Above-the-line marketing is simply not an option for the majority of studios, so they have to look to other ways of gaining the attention of operators and players.
But due to the expensive nature of traditional game development, and the time it can take to bring a slot from concept to market (this can take anywhere from four to twelve months) studios must not leave game discovery to chance and instead proactively promote each of their most anticipated titles.
It is also important for studios to provide operators with easy access to information and assets about their games, not just for the purpose of selling their titles but also for other areas such as inclusion in the operator’s marketing and CRM. Without this, developers are missing the final but crucial step in launching their game – which is proactively letting players know about it.
This has led several studios to partner with slot streamers but while that now hangs in the balance pending Twitch’s upcoming announcement on 18 October, others are leveraging the incredible reach that traditional affiliates can provide. But striking partnerships with publishers can be labour intensive – something that already stretched teams have little time to dedicate to unless they hire someone dedicated to affiliate outreach pretty much full-time.
That is where First Look Games comes in, providing the world’s first platform that directly connects studios with all registered affiliates in the iGaming space who regularly craft detailed new game reviews designed to generate referrals to one or more online casino partner.
A publisher’s access to First Look Games is free, allowing all game studios to deploy finished/approved creative packs direct to an entire affiliate community within minutes. It puts the power in the developer’s hands, giving them control over the information and assets they share, and when they share them.
Affiliate marketing allows studios of all sizes to put their games in front of players and potentially build anticipation around future releases. For established studios that have highly sought-after content coming, affiliate marketing can drive large numbers of reviews along with significant awareness that a new game is set to land. For small studios starting out, it can make a difference between being prioritised for an operator integration or being left out. For those in the growth phase, game promotion can assist with realising greater ROI.
Studios can additionally use the feedback they receive from affiliate game reviews to guide future slot development by understanding what has and has not hit the mark with the player community. This feedback is incredibly valuable.
What’s more, affiliates are very cost-effective when compared to other forms of B2C marketing and can help studios to reverse engineer interest in their games where reviews are strong and the audience has a clear appetite for their content.
But right now, studios are not maximising the potential that affiliates provide. The studio-affiliate relationship is still relatively new which is why this marketing channel can be overlooked in terms of the value it can deliver.
First Look Games has been designed to do much of the heavy lifting on behalf of the studio, providing them with access to more than 800 approved publishers with their combined reach being more than 20 million players around the world.
Studios simply upload game information and assets to their dedicated library, and then our network of approved affiliates can access these files and use them to produce content such as game reviews or video content. The entire platform has been designed to be easy to use by any member of a studio’s team.
Despite this, we often find the studios do not know where to position us within their business – sometimes we are seen as a marketing resource, other times as a tool to support the commercial team. We can be both, but it shows just how new this area of game promotion is.
Over time this will change, especially when studios start to see the incredible success their rivals are having in the affiliate space by unlocking more of the potential in their games.
Getting any title in front of more of the right people is simply good business and in such a competitive market, that can be the difference between a studio succeeding or failing.

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Soft2Bet brand and Leadership nominated by Global Regulatory Awards 2025
The Global Regulatory Awards 2025 have recognised Soft2Bet and its leadership in four categories, reflecting the group’s B2B excellence, rigorous compliance culture, and clear commitment to responsible gaming and player protection.
For nine years, Soft2Bet has focused on competitive markets and built compliance into the product from day one. In-house controls and training, backed by real-time monitoring, give regulators and partners clear, auditable outcomes. MEGA extends this approach into gameplay, using innovative mechanics that merge engagement with responsibility, ensuring marketing impact and safer gaming go hand in hand.
Over the past 12 months, the industry has seen the strength of Soft2Bet’s compliance team, expertise and leadership across the EU and North America. Soft2Bet’s in-house approach brings together market-specific AML and RG controls, proprietary training and QA, and real-time monitoring, with MEGA embedding these safeguards directly into the player experience.
Also, David Yatom Hay, General Counsel, was recognised for Regulatory Lawyer or In-House Counsel of the Year, reflecting his major contribution to company processes and partnerships, his strong commitment to player protection and compliance, and his wider work for the industry through articles, keynotes, and the panel and roundtable discussions that help set safer standards.
“These shortlists reflect years of rigorous work by our Legal and Compliance teams in close partnership with our product, platform, innovation, expansion and partnerships teams. We run a compliance-first operation because it protects players and gives regulators and partners certainty. – stated David Yatom Hay, General Counsel of Soft2Bet – By building our own systems and training, and by operating a self-sufficient department that handles most matters in-house with minimal reliance on external counsel, we give the business speed, clarity and accountability.”
Operating in 11 jurisdictions and holding 19 licences, Soft2Bet treats compliance as a strategic discipline embedded in every team. Rather than outsourcing, the company builds its own tools, training and monitoring systems tailored to each market and customer profile. This self-developed ecosystem enables swift updates to AML and RG controls, targeted risk management and clear audit trails.
MEGA, Soft2Bet’s Motivational Engineering Gaming Application, is central to this model. MEGA supports real-time oversight of session length, spend patterns and betting limits, while localised missions and challenges encourage healthy play. By integrating responsible gambling into the product experience, MEGA makes protection intuitive and helps partners lift retention and lifetime value without compromising safety.
The post Soft2Bet brand and Leadership nominated by Global Regulatory Awards 2025 appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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From Track to Tech: SOFTSWISS Celebrates Barrichello’s First NASCAR Brasil Triumph
SOFTSWISS, a global tech provider with over 15 years of iGaming expertise, celebrates Rubens Barrichello’s victory in the first NASCAR Brasil Series title in his debut season. As the company’s Non‑Executive Director in Latin America, Barrichello exemplifies the champion’s mindset that underpins SOFTSWISS’ disciplined approach to product delivery in Brazil and worldwide.
The NASCAR Brasil Series crowns its champion over a full season under NASCAR-aligned regulations. The title was sealed at the Match Point finale at Velo Città in São Paulo, where the opening race set the decisive points. Barrichello’s calm, data-driven call at the critical moment mirrors SOFTSWISS’ practice: trust the plan, read the telemetry, execute cleanly.
Rubens Barrichello, Non‑Executive Director in Latin America at SOFTSWISS, comments: “Everyone knows how much I love this competition and how fierce I am. My heart is in my mouth and I’m very happy.”
Ivan Montik, Founder of SOFTSWISS, adds: “This title is a powerful example of what passion, confidence and disciplined preparation deliver. The champion’s mindset that Rubens demonstrates – clarity of plan, trust in the team and precision under pressure – inspires everyone at SOFTSWISS. We will keep applying the same approach in Brazil first and across all markets, bringing measured execution and data-driven decision-making to every release and every client partnership.”
In May, SOFTSWISS marked the first anniversary of its collaboration with Barrichello. This success arrives as an energising milestone for teams and partners, reinforcing a working culture built on preparation, clarity of roles, measurable outcomes, and continuous improvement. Earlier this month, the SOFTSWISS Game Aggregator was named ‘Best Game Aggregator Platform’ at CGS Recife, adding local recognition to the company’s Brazil roadmap.
SOFTSWISS is fully certified in Brazil across its core products – Casino Platform, Game Aggregator, Sportsbook, and Jackpot Aggregator – enabling licensed operators to access a comprehensive, locally compliant stack with trusted support. The same track-to-tech discipline continues to drive responsible and sustainable growth.
About SOFTSWISS
SOFTSWISS is an international technology company with over 15 years of experience developing innovative solutions for the iGaming industry. SOFTSWISS provides certified software for managing iGaming projects. The company’s product portfolio includes the Casino Platform, the Game Aggregator with over 30,000 casino games, the Affilka affiliate platform, the Sportsbook Software and the Jackpot Aggregator. The expert team counts over 2,000 employees.
The post From Track to Tech: SOFTSWISS Celebrates Barrichello’s First NASCAR Brasil Triumph appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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Swintt increase German market profile with new NOVOLINE deal
Having already established a substantial fan following in Germany thanks to its engaging range of classically-themed slots, sought-after software provider, Swintt, has announced it will be making further in-roads into the country via a new partnership with NOVOLINE.DE.
One of Germany’s most beloved online casino platforms, NOVOLINE.DE is home to a vast collection of over 650 slot games and this impressive library now stands to be significantly boosted by the addition of Swintt’s titles – most notably those included within the popular SwinttPremium range.
A core pillar of Swintt’s multi-faceted content line-up, SwinttPremium titles combine the classic graphics, sounds and fruit-based iconography of land-based slots with quick and easy bonus features. They have proven particularly successful in the regulated German market.
As a result of the new deal, NOVOLINE.DE customers will now be able to enjoy a number of popular entries in the series including Seven Seven Pots and Pearls, Xtra Win X and Aqua Lord – all of which have established themselves among the provider’s best-performing titles in the German market.
Of course, with upwards of 120 titles in the SwinttPremium collection alone, the addition of this exciting selection of 63 games will enable NOVOLINE to offer an even wider selection of casino content to customers, while also helping Swintt cement its position as a top provider in the German market.
David Mann, Chief Executive Officer at Swintt, said: “Having already established ourselves as a leading software provider in the regulated German market, we’re delighted to be teaming up with NOVOLINE.DE to bring our SwinttPremium games to an even wider range of players.
“As a hugely established online slots platform with a strong player base in the country, the partnership will enable Swintt to enhance its standing among German audiences while also bolstering NOVOLINE’s line-up with proven titles like the fan favourite Seven Seven Pots and Pearls.”
Florian Hermann, Managing Director at NOVOLINE.DE, said: “While NOVOLINE.DE already offers an incredible collection of over 650 slot titles to players, we’re always looking for opportunities to extend our line-up by joining forces with the software providers who can offer something new.
“We’re confident that our customers will love the SwinttPremium titles added to our offering .”
The post Swintt increase German market profile with new NOVOLINE deal appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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