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Racecourse Media Group results return to pre-Covid levels

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Racecourse Media Group (RMG) has revealed its payments to racecourses have returned to pre-Covid levels, with £110m forecast to be paid to its shareholders for 2021.

The payments, earned through racecourses’ media and data rights, are expected to exceed 2019’s pre-Covid payments of £107m, and have been a contributory factor to many racecourses being able to return prize money to its pre-pandemic levels.

RMG is 100% owned by its racecourse shareholders and pays 100% of operating profit back to racecourses. This collective and collaborative ethos has seen RMG’s businesses become the biggest single funder of British horseracing. The 2021 results follow a hugely challenging year in 2020 when, due to the pandemic, RMG payments to racecourses fell by 25.9% on the previous year.

Chairman Roger Lewis said: “I thank and congratulate everyone involved in racing for their herculean efforts in 2021. The RMG racecourses ensured that horseracing continued for a second year in the most demanding of circumstances, which allowed RMG to deliver as great a return as possible for racing. The RMG model was again tested in 2021 and again proved to be resilient and reliable.

“The investment in, and development of, our media assets and new innovative products – such as the Watch & Bet service, ultra-low latency, on-screen timing data, the exploration of in-play opportunities, and enhancements on Racing TV, headlined by the stunning Virtual Studio – aided our recovery.

“These initiatives all contribute to the RMG strategy of attracting more eyes on to our racing which, in turn, drives betting turnover, subscriptions, and sponsorship opportunities in the sport. And this all feeds into the RMG vision of increasing returns to our racecourses for the benefit of the industry.

“The 2021 performance will mean that RMG will have delivered £1bn to racecourses since the start of the business in 2004. This is a testament to our racecourses’ dedication and commitment to working together for the greater good of racing.”

Lewis steps down from his role at the end of 2022 and the search for a new Chairman is underway.

He joined the Board of RMG in 2012 and was appointed Non-Executive Chairman on January 1, 2019. Over a 40-year career in sport, media and business, Lewis has held senior positions at the BBC, ITV, Classic FM, EMI and Decca, and was GCEO of the Welsh Rugby Union for nine years.

Lewis continues as Chair of the Churchill Lines Foundation, a military charity, a Director of Festival UK 2022 and President of the National Museums of Wales. He also sits on The Platinum Jubilee Civic Honours Panel.

He added: “I have thoroughly enjoyed my decade at RMG and have been humbled by the boundless enthusiasm and support that we receive from our shareholder racecourses.

“I am particularly pleased RMG was able to announce last July that our British racecourses agreed a media rights renewal extension until December 31, 2028.

“This was a pivotal moment for British racing. The RMG racecourses have created business clarity and confidence for years to come. The certainty which this landmark, long-term agreement provides is very special for everyone involved in British racing.

“I pay particular tribute to the outstanding leadership of the RMG CEO, Martin Stevenson, who together with his great team of RMG executives navigated this complex and detailed process with rigour, patience and clear focus and who continue to lead the business with dynamism.

“I have been very fortunate to have worked alongside an outstanding Board of Directors and I sincerely thank them for their friendship, help and support and their incredible insight into the business.”

The business is aiming to exceed 2021’s forecast payments of £110m for the year ahead.

Lewis continued: “RMG can now look forward to serving its shareholder racecourses, which, in turn, benefits the sport of racing for the foreseeable future.

“The unity of purpose which the RMG racecourses have created over the past 18 years, to build an evolving yet sustainable and secure financial business, is a rare and precious thing. It has been a privilege and an honour to have served racing for the past ten years. It’s been one hell of a ride!”

Martin Stevenson, CEO of RMG, paid tribute to Lewis, saying: “I would like to pay tribute to Roger, who during his tenure as first Board member and then Chairman, has been instrumental in the development and success of RMG and its businesses over the last decade.

“In particular, Roger has helped steer RMG through the pandemic, and all the huge challenges it presented, to the point where the business is now producing results, which were on a par with pre-covid payments to racecourses. That is a terrific outcome.

“I thank Roger for his leadership and friendship and for all that he has done for horseracing. We wish him all the best for the future once his tenure comes to its conclusion at the end of the year.”

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Buffalo Force

ELA Games’ Buffalo Force Charges to Outstanding Results: 62% GGR Growth in Just 3 Weeks

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Stunning visuals and strong performance make Buffalo Force a standout success

ELA Games’ Buffalo Force has quickly risen to the top of performance charts, just three weeks after its release, showing strong player engagement metrics and turnover growth.

The Wild West-themed brand-new title blends visually rich artwork, dynamic gameplay, and immersive atmospheres to create engaging experiences for players and value for operators. The game showcases ELA Games’ rapid rise to become a leading game development studio, capable of pushing the boundaries of the gaming industry with its innovative solutions.

Inside the Data: How ELA’s Buffalo Force Instantly Soared

This month, Buffalo Force exceeded all plans and surpassed expectations across key performance metrics. The audience immediately embraced the product, with operators reporting positive responses from player bases. With the game’s momentum still building, even stronger results may be on the horizon.

Growth metrics during the first 3 weeks after release highlight Buffalo Force as one of the studio’s strongest titles to date. It showcases the game’s powerful retention appeal and the ability to deliver games that perform consistently across regions, captivating new audiences:

  • Actives growth +26%
  • Turnover +38%
  • GGR total growth +62%
  • Rounds count +29%

These results reflect a rise in overall player activity, indicating higher session frequency and more wagers placed. This shows that Buffalo Force has high replay value and is a game that encourages engagement.

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Marharyta Yerina, ELA Games’ Managing Director, commented, “Buffalo Force represents the progress our studio has made in understanding what players love and what operators need. What we see with the game’s instant success is a sign that our approach is working and that each new release will set the bar higher in terms of engagement, performance, and enjoyment.”

ELA Games’ Portfolio Continues to Expand

Buffalo Force’s success reflects ELA Games’ development approach, where each release enriches the studio’s portfolio, adding creative innovation, visually rich design, and operator value. Other recent additions, such as Shoot Happens or Rabbit Winpot Deluxe, reinforce this trend, creating a balanced catalogue with plenty of variety.

Joker Winpot is another standout title for ELA Games that has received widespread acclaim. It received key nominations by various institutions for its creativity and innovation, underscoring how ELA Games’ developments are recognised by peers and press alike. Buffalo Force positions itself as a key game for the studio that will contend for similar commercial success and industry recognition.

The post ELA Games’ Buffalo Force Charges to Outstanding Results: 62% GGR Growth in Just 3 Weeks appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

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Flashscore

Flashscore expands Follow Player feature to basketball and ice hockey NBA and NHL stars

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  • New Follow Player feature lets fans track their favourite basketball and ice hockey players with real-time notifications, including NBA and NHL

  • The NBA competition page received over 1.1 billion opens last season alone, demonstrating the market appetite for more detailed match statistics fans want to access

  • This follows the launch of the platform across football in September, activated by 1.3 million fans so far

Flashscore, the world’s most popular live scores and sports news app, has expanded its Follow Player functionality to basketball and ice hockey, allowing users to get real-time updates on their favourite basketball and ice hockey stars in the NBA, NHL and other leagues.

The launch follows the success of the feature for global football fans, launched in September. Within two months of being launched, 1.3 million fans are actively using Follow Player for football, averaging five players each, resulting in around 6.5 million player favourites.

The enhancement allows Flashscore’s 100 million-plus monthly users to add up to 100 of their favourite players to receive personalised notifications. Updates include alerts on whether a player is in the starting lineup, their in-game stats like goals and assists, and post-match performance ratings.

The expansion comes as Flashscore data reveals huge user engagement with the NBA and NHL during the 2024-25 season. In the last NBA season, there were more than 1.1 billion match detail opens across 1,316 games, with an average of around 320,000 users per match.

The most-followed team was the Los Angeles Lakers, attracting an average of 515,000 users to their games. In ice hockey and the NHL, last season saw more than 783 million match detail opens across 1,420 games. The Washington Capitals were the most popular team, with an average of 390,000 users per game.

Company data shows basketball and ice hockey are among the most popular sports with Flashscore users, beyond only football and tennis.

Tomáš Pondělík, Chief Product Officer at Flashscore, said: “Following the hugely successful launch of Follow Player for our football fans, expansion to Basketball and Ice Hockey is the next logical step. Fandom is evolving, and we’re seeing a significant shift from fans, especially with the younger generation, following only their favourite teams to a deeper interest in individual players. We see the same trend in basketball and hockey, where superstars often have a global following that transcends team loyalties. Being able to offer our users the chance to follow real-time updates from their favourite football, basketball and ice hockey stars sets Flashscore apart from other live scores apps.

“Our community has been asking for this feature, and the data shows a clear appetite for in-depth information. With Follow Player now available for basketball and ice hockey, fans can track their heroes in real time with the fast, non-intrusive notifications they expect from us. We’re already working on adding more meaningful player data to give fans a richer understanding of performance, and this is just the beginning.”

The post Flashscore expands Follow Player feature to basketball and ice hockey NBA and NHL stars appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

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BetNation

Kambi Group plc agrees Turnkey Sportsbook partnership with Dutch online operator Betnation

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Multi-year agreement will see the home of premium sports betting solutions deliver its market-leading online sportsbook to Betnation in the regulated Netherlands market

Kambi Group plc (“Kambi”), the home of premium sports betting solutions, has agreed a multi-year partnership with Dutch online operator Betnation to deliver its comprehensive Turnkey Sportsbook solution in the regulated Netherlands market.

Under the terms of the partnership, Kambi will power Betnation’s online sportsbook offering with its award-winning end-to-end sportsbook technology and services, including robust betting engine, advanced trading and risk management capabilities and regulatory compliance expertise.

Having successfully operated an online casino in the Netherlands since October 2022, Betnation will leverage Kambi’s proven turnkey capabilities to expand its presence in the online sports betting vertical.

With more than 50 partners globally, Kambi’s Turnkey Sportsbook has become the sportsbook of choice for operators in regulated markets — combining global scale, cutting-edge technology and flexibility to drive growth, ensure stability and deliver market-leading performance. Kambi’s Turnkey Sportsbook also offers an extensive range of operator empowerment tools, including price differentiation and player engagement solutions, which enable partners to stand out in competitive markets and deliver a unique sportsbook experience for their players.

Werner Becher, CEO of Kambi, said: “We are delighted to agree this partnership with Betnation as we strengthen our position as the sportsbook partner of choice for operators in regulated betting markets. As Betnation embarks on its next phase of growth, Kambi’s Turnkey Sportsbook solution offers the flexibility, scalability and performance needed to compete in highly competitive markets like the Netherlands, and we look forward to supporting our new partner’s success.”

Robert Schouten, CEO of Betnation, added: “Kambi’s reputation for excellence, cutting-edge technology and a commitment to regulated markets made them the natural choice as our new sportsbook provider. Their technology and expertise will enable us to provide our customers with a premium betting experience that matches the high standards they already expect from our online casino product.”

The post Kambi Group plc agrees Turnkey Sportsbook partnership with Dutch online operator Betnation appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

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