iGaming News Weekly Roundup: 27.01.24

A roundup of the biggest stories of the week from iGaming News:

Betty, the Female-focused Online Casino, Raises $5M to Fuel Growth

Betty, the female-focused online casino, announced today that it has raised $5 million in pre-Series A funding led by CEAS Investments as the company approaches its upcoming Series A round. 

Also participating in the round are Powerhouse Capital, HappyHour, and Courtside Ventures. Betty has previously raised $7M.

Betty has harnessed the power of the female gaming audience to create a unique online casino experience. Betty’s offering focuses on transparency, community-based play, and gamification of the traditional slot experience, all catered to female players. This focus has allowed Betty to stand out from other services, resulting in phenomenal growth and the ability to retain female players at a rate three times higher than their male counterparts. 

Celebrating GR8ness: First Anniversary of GR8 Tech in B2B and Evgen Belousov is the CEO of the Year

Right as GR8 Tech is celebrating its first anniversary as a full-fledged B2B company, its CEO Evgen Belousov is recognized as an outstanding leader, winning the CEO of the Year in the iGaming category at the European CEO Awards 2024. This acclamation, based on Evgen’s professional prominence in the industry and the company’s achievements throughout the year, is an excellent reflection of the CEO's vision success and the critical milestones the company has passed during the year.

Betting.bet Honours Unlucky Punter with £2,000 Payout After Controversial Race Result Reversal

In an unprecedented move demonstrating exceptional customer service and commitment to fair play, online betting aggregator Betting.bet has made headlines by compensating an unlucky bettor who faced an unforeseen turn of events in the 13:30 race at Chepstow Racecourse on Wednesday, 24th January.

The punter, who placed a £20 bet on 100/1 outsider Mad Mike on the Betting.Bet Free Members Club Maiden Hurdle through online bookmaker Tote, was initially overjoyed when Mad Mike crossed the finish line ahead of Rebecca Curtis's House of Stories by a nose. However, a subsequent Stewards' Enquiry due to a last-hurdle incident led to a dramatic reversal of the race result, declaring House of Stories the winner.

Spinomenal Expands Demi Gods Series with Book of Demi Gods V Release

Leading iGaming content provider Spinomenal has expanded its hugely successful Demi Gods series with the launch of Book of Demi Gods V.

For this latest Demi Gods instalment, players once again take their place in ancient Greece in the hunt for riches. Atlas, Selene, Helios, and Hera feature as the central characters and represent the medium-value symbols.

The Wild Book symbol also acts as the Scatter Wild and has the power to represent any symbol. Three Scatter Wilds anywhere on the reels will pay double the bet total, four will pay x25 and five will pay x250, while simultaneously triggering 10 free spins.

Salsa Bingo Network: Salsa Gator Brings Multiplayer Bingo Solution to a Wider Range of Operators

Salsa Technology has proudly unveiled its Salsa Bingo Network, a solution for operators tackling the challenges of setting up a bingo platform. This new network promises to remove the high costs and complexities associated with launching a successful bingo operation.

Salsa Technology’s solution empowers operators to seamlessly activate the bingo vertical via aggregator Salsa Gator without extra cost. Adding Bingo supports player acquisition while simultaneously contributing around 25% to revenue.

First to launch on the network is the hugely popular 90-ball room, SUPERNOVA. This room delivers constant action with games every 6 minutes, available 24/7. There is a moderating chat available 24/7 to nurture a social community that is initially in Brazilian Portuguese. Operators have the ability to design certain elements of the iFrame to help the bingo room experience reflect each unique brand. 

SOFTSWISS Casino Platform Launches Tournament Service

The SOFTSWISS Casino Platform, an acclaimed online casino software, has introduced the Tournament Service, an upgraded version of its Tournaments. This update enhances the flexibility and reliability of the previous edition, reinforcing its role in player engagement.

The primary goal of the Tournament Service is to involve players in the gambling experience. Internal research indicates a notable impact of tournaments on critical metrics, including a 10–20% increase in the Deposit Count and a twofold rise in the Deposit Sum.

A key feature of the Tournament Service is its real-time leaderboard, enabling operators to track and enhance player engagement dynamically.

Wazdan Adds to North American Roster with Hard Rock Bet in New Jersey

Wazdan , the gain-focused developer behind some of the world’s most rewarding casino game experiences, has further grown in North America following a key partnership with Hard Rock Digital and its Hard Rock Bet platform in New Jersey.

The deal saw customers of the iconic brand able to enjoy incredibly popular titles such as Magic Stars 3, Burning Sun™, and Sizzling Eggs™, among a plethora of titles.

Wazdan brought its numerous years of experience to the partnership and a strong track record in key regulated states in America, with its games consistently performing excellently with players.

It becomes the latest commercial success for Wazdan, following recent agreements with BetMGM and Tipico in New Jersey, all of which have been integrated via Light & Wonder’s aggregation offering.

GiG Launches Revolutionary Next-gen iGaming Platform and Sportsbook Solutions Ahead of ICE

Gaming Innovation Group (GiG), one of the most established and respected names in the B2B online gaming industry, has today officially unveiled an impressive line-up of product enhancements ahead of ICE 2024, as it looks to cement its position as a pioneer in cutting edge iGaming platform and sportsbook solutions.

As a marker of its next generation capabilities, the multi-award-winning tech provider has officially launched two powerful new solutions. The first, innovative iGaming platform CoreX, has been launched alongside a brand new revolutionary sportsbook, SportX, as part of a vastly enhanced turnkey suite that looks to capitalise on increasing global opportunities, with regulated markets becoming more demanding for technology providers.

Blueprint Gaming-powered Lucksome Brings the ‘80s heat in Fatstacks™ Miami Cash™

Fatstacks™ is back, in a feature-rich homage to the simmering summers of 1980s Miami, with up to one million ways to win in Lucksome’s latest slot release powered by Blueprint Gaming Ltd.

Fatstacks™ Miami Cash™ sees a welcome return to the popular mechanic that recently drove the success of Napoleon 2 Fatstacks™ and is the only progressive ways mechanic where the number of ways to win change within a single spin, offering a unique gameplay experience.

The Luxpots Prize Ladder also returns in this new title. Three or more of these must be landed anywhere on the reels to unlock an instant cash prize with extra Luxpots progressing players up the incrementally increasing prize ladder.

Thunderkick Eyes Substantial Growth with Ontario Market Entry

Independent slots studio Thunderkick is setting its sights on success in the Ontario market with ambitious plans to acquire a licence to operate in the jurisdiction.

The market entry will see the provider strengthen its presence further in regulated international jurisdictions. Ontario is set to become a main focus for Thunderkick in the year ahead, alongside markets such as Italy, Portugal and its homeland of Sweden.

Ontario will also mark the first step in Thunderkick’s long-term growth strategy, which will see the provider roll out great game releases and commercial deals in 2024 and beyond. The licence would allow the provider to partner with a range of operators in the region, which has proven to be buoyant since it came online in 2022.

ParlayBay Appoints Paolo Gazzei as Chief Information Officer

Paolo Gazzei has joined innovative sports betting game provider ParlayBay as its new Chief Information Officer as the brand continues to accelerate its global growth plans.

Gazzei arrives with an increased pipeline of prospects for ParlayBay following a recent deal to provide its leading cricket content to 96.com which has elevated its footprint in Asia.

Gazzei has been appointed to develop a deeper range of betting models and increase the number of games in the ParlayBay portfolio, with a particular focus on in-play and micro betting opportunities.

The new CIO joins from sports betting game provider KONECT, where he spent three years as Chief Technology Officer. Prior to that he was Head of Sportsbook Unit at SBTech, Head of Software Development and Projects at GoldBet, and CEO of Betgenius Estonia.