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Top Sports Betting Moments of 2023 from Betano and Stoiximan by Kaizen Gaming
Real Madrid leads as most popular team in betting
Premier League pays out highest winnings
Over 11x more bets on the Saudi Pro League after Ronaldo’s transfer
2023 was a year of many ‘firsts’. For the first time ever, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo played club football outside Europe. Manchester City won its first and long-awaited Champions League trophy. Fluminense took its first taste of a Copa Libertadores triumph. The Spanish national team won its first World Cup in women’s football. And in the NBA, the Denver Nuggets secured its first NBA championship.
Kaizen Gaming, one of the biggest gametech companies in the world, sheds a different light on the events, teams and stories that stole the show in 2023 through data gathered from its sports betting platforms, Betano and Stoiximan, from 13 countries across four continents.
Across all markets, Premier League fixtures and Champions League matches featuring English clubs proved popular among bettors, as did local teams. Various Manchester City fixtures were in the top five betting events across many regions including its June match against Inter Milan in Greece, Cyprus and Czechia and its February RB Leipzig and its May Real Madrid matches in Bulgaria. Similarly, the Citizens’ December match against Everton and November game against Chelsea ranked as two of the top betting choices among Nigerian punters.
In Germany, most bets were placed on November’s match between FC Bayern Munchen and FC Copenhagen followed by November’s FSV Mainz 05 versus RB Leipzig game. In Brazil, November’s Flamengo RJ versus Palmeiras SP came out ahead.
Two Bizarre Stories from Liverpool
On May 28 in Southampton versus Liverpool, Betano and Stoiximan players were paid out regardless of the result they had bet on for two reasons: a special Kaizen Gaming offer paying players when the team they bet on gets a two-goal lead and a crazy scoreboard that saw both teams getting such a lead and ended in a 4-4 draw.
On September 30 in Tottenham vs Liverpool (2-1), a clearly wrong VAR call led to the cancellation of a goal by Luis Diaz as offside. Nonetheless, Kaizen Gaming decided to reward the players who placed a bet on Luis Diaz to score.
What else stood out from a gaming perspective in all markets where Kaizen operates?
Real Madrid Reigns Supreme
In 2023, Real Madrid didn’t manage to defend its 2022 Champions League and La Liga titles. Still, the Copa del Rey winners were the most popular team among bettors. The team that won it all, Manchester City, just fell short this time, being the second most betted club with Liverpool in third place.
In basketball, even though the Miami Heat lost the NBA finals to the Denver Nuggets, it was ‘crowned’ the most popular team in betting with its rivals in second place. The Milwaukee Bucks, starring Betano global ambassador Giannis Antetokounmpo, came third.
A Truly Celebratory Boxing Day
Boxing Day’s Premier League matches seemed to be the best time to bet in 2023. That day’s match between Everton and Manchester City (1-3) shared the most winnings to Kaizen’s customers in 2023. Placed second was Chelsea versus Crystal Palace (2-1) for the same Premier League fixture on December 27. Ranked third was Liverpool versus Real Madrid (2-5) for the Champions League Round of 16.
As for the matches where players placed the most bets, in Europe the winner is the second leg Champions League quarter final 1-1 draw between Napoli and AC Milan. Surprisingly, the Champions League final between Manchester City and Inter (1-0) was just third. In South America, the most popular match was Cruzeiro versus Palmeiras (1-1) in the last fixture of the Brazilian Serie A, where Palmeiras were crowned Brazilian champions.
The Ronaldo and Messi Effect
After Cristiano Ronaldo’s transfer to Al Nassr, a lot of top names such as Neymar, Benzema and Kante, decided to make the move to the Saudi Pro League in what journalists and fans describe as ‘the Ronaldo Effect’. ‘The Ronaldo Effect’ extends to betting too, as his transfer increased bettors’ interest in the league by more than 1,000%. As for Messi’s transfer to Inter Miami, 25% of all Inter Miami relevant bets are on ‘Messi to score’.
2024 a Thrilling Year in Sports
At the end of 2023, Kaizen Gaming announced that its Betano brand has signed on as an Official Global Sponsor of UEFA Euro 2024 with its Stoiximan brand serving as official sponsor of the upcoming Euro for Greece and Cyprus. With the Paris Olympic Games and other major sporting events like Copa America and Africa Cup of Nations, 2024 is set out to be an all around thrilling year in sports gaming.

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QTech Games fields more elite content with Popiplay
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Emerging-markets leader expands its offering with a fresh portfolio from the ascendant Scandinavian studio
QTech Games, the leading game aggregator for emerging markets, has maintained the strong momentum in its deal-flow, thanks to its latest integration with Popiplay, an emerging force in high-level slots entertainment.
Integrating content from one of the more innovative and creative online slots providers adds yet more muscle to QTech Games’ burgeoning platform, which is taking the widest range of online games to emerging territories with established names, sitting alongside the industry’s most exciting up-and-coming providers.
Popiplay slot designs are recognised for a more modern approach – being streamer-focused, crypto-ready and high roller-friendly – while also showcasing special features (like Bonus Buy, and Chance 2x and 3x options) that elevate the player experience and deepen engagement. These features are in evidence across an array of popular titles, including new releases such as Fruit Empire and Jellyens X, which eloquently demonstrate Popiplay’s eclectic range of hit slots.
The agreement organically broadens Popiplay’s global scope, targeting emerging markets and creating new revenue streams. As the fastest-growing aggregator over the past few years, QTech’s platform offers the most expansive gaming portfolio around, localised for each region, retention and marketing tools, and 24/7 local-language support.
Philip Doftvik, QTech Games’ CEO, said: “We’re excited to add Popiplay to our growing ranks. They are now coupling modern player demands to their existing cutting-edge mechanics, offering global operators varied content with which to captivate and retain the end user. And by combining unique maths modelling, which spans the volatility spectrum, with twists on conventional narratives, these games will foster some truly engaging gameplay for fresh cohorts of QTech players. Indeed, it’s been rewarding to see how Popiplay invariably seek to redefine the existing ecosystem and reimagine more traditional gaming experiences with each play. We look forward to watching how these games perform in regions which, in many cases, break new ground for Popiplay.”
Almir Kudic, CCO of Popiplay, added: “Through this partnership, Popiplay’s portfolio of dynamic slot games has been seamlessly integrated into QTech’s dominant aggregation platform for emerging markets, opening up a new network of partners and players worldwide for us. We can’t wait to see what the reception is. Through our combined commitment to collaboration and innovation, we can continue to work together to tailor the content for truly localised games that drive enhanced engagement and interest across a diverse and ever-changing slots landscape.
“At Popiplay, we firmly believe that our trademark creativity drives innovation. So, we’re committed to raising the bar in the igaming sector and pushing the boundaries of how these games look and feel. And this partnership with QTech constitutes a great opportunity to extend our product distribution across new territories and deliver our games to a range of top-tier partners.”
The post QTech Games fields more elite content with Popiplay appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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GLI Grows Stronger and Bigger in Melbourne with New Lab Location
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Gaming Laboratories International (GLI) has had a robust presence in Melbourne since it opened the lab in 2007. The company and its presence in Melbourne is stronger and bigger now that GLI has moved to a new lab location in the city.
The move was necessitated by GLI’s continually growing operations, and the upgrade to a larger facility in South Melbourne physically positions GLI even closer to many of its customers. GLI also operates labs in Adelaide and Syndey.
GLI’s Melbourne lab offers a full suite of services including:
• iGaming and Land-based Testing
• Casino Management Systems (CMS) Testing
• Interoperability Testing
• Quality Assurance
• Compliance
“We are excited about this next chapter as it strengthens our ability to meet our clients’ continually evolving needs. With these expert teams working together under one roof, we are better positioned to than ever to deliver comprehensive solutions for today’s gaming industry,” said Richard Howarth, Chief Business Officer – APAC.
The post GLI Grows Stronger and Bigger in Melbourne with New Lab Location appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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TaDa Gaming Spins Spellbinding Gaming in 3 Witch’s Lamp
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TaDa Gaming, has added some dark magic to its TriLuck slots series with its five reels, three rows and 50 fixed paylines new game, 3 Witch’s Lamp.
Green, Purple and Blue Potion Pot Scatters can trigger the bonus game’s free spins, five fixed jackpots, ignite coins for wins and increase the bonus prizes.
Spellbooks, rings, candles and Witch Stacked Wilds in the main game reinforce the bewitching theme, while 97% RTP and 3000x max win make the magic irresistible to all levels of players.
Set in the eerie castle tower, three luminous potions bubble away in a riot of colour above the grid. Using TaDa’s ‘three pots’ mechanism to maximum effect, the Green, Purple and Blue Pot Scatters each have unique magic to deliver in the bonus feature and when they combine their power, the magic goes off the scale.
Each pot brings a different bonus: the Blue Potion ‘Win Up’ Pot will ignite a random coin symbol on the board to increase the value with each spin; the Green Potion ‘Award All’ Pot will randomly increase the bonus for all the gold coin symbols on the board; while the high impact Purple ‘Jackpot Reel Up’ Pot will transform into jackpot symbols for Mini (5x), Minor (10x), Major (30x), Grand (100x) and the Witch’s Grand Jackpot of 1000x. Prizes are dynamically based on the triggering bet value.
When the Purple ‘Jackpot Reel Up’ bonus game is triggered, a new screen opens with an expanded 6×5 grid. Only blank positions, Purple Potion Pots and gold coin symbols will appear.
Three further respins are given for each symbol and the relevant jackpot counters light up as each jackpot value is applied. The first jackpot counter to show three lights will pay out. Any other jackpot counter lights will remain in place as the bonus game will continue until there are no more free spins and the jackpots can be won multiple times.
With a supernaturally eerie soundtrack, polished visuals and impressive details, 3 Witch’s Lamp delivers an atmospheric and evocative gaming experience.
Sean Liu, Director of Product Management at TaDa Gaming, said: “3 Witch’s Lamp is an impressive addition to our very popular triple pots series. We are delighted to deliver this beautiful game supported with immersive mechanics and potentially generous prizes in time for a very happy Halloween for our players.”
The post TaDa Gaming Spins Spellbinding Gaming in 3 Witch’s Lamp appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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