Latest News
AFC Wimbledon Become the Latest Club to Back The Big Step Campaign

AFC Wimbledon has become the fifth English league club to take a stand against gambling advertising in football by signing up for The Big Step campaign.
Johnnie Jackson, manager of AFC Wimbledon, said: “If you look at gambling and the damage it causes – the stats around suicides in particular – it’s touched a lot of people and probably more than we realise.
“The fact that so many people voted it through shows just how prevalent the problems around it are and how much people are affected by it, whether it’s themselves or the people around them. The more awareness around gambling you can create, the better.”
Tom Fleming, Communications Manager at Gambling with Lives and The Big Step, said: “We’re thrilled to have the backing of Wimbledon and their owners – the fans. Gambling advertising is unhealthy and unpopular so the Club’s decision is welcome good news, following the sharp rise in high-profile players harmed by gambling. We’re sure that if it were down to the fans of each club, no club would partner with a gambling company.
“Despite young fans being bombarded with relentless gambling adverts while watching their heroes, this year has shown that football is incapable of self-regulating. We still hope the government will take control and end gambling advertising in football, but in the meantime it’s so important that clubs like AFC Wimbledon have taken a stand to protect their fans.”
The announcement comes at a time when gambling’s relationship with football is under increasing scrutiny, following the high-profile cases of players including Ivan Toney, Harry Toffolo, Sandro Tonali and Lucas Paqueta – all are either under investigation or serving a ban for breaking gambling regulations.
Michele Little, Dons Trust Board member, said: “As a club at the heart of our community, we are committed to being a force for good. We took the decision some time ago not to accept gambling advertising or sponsorship as a club. Now with the backing of our owners – the fans – we’re signing up to The Big Step and saying that it’s time to end the harm that gambling advertising in football causes.”
The Big Step campaign is part of Gambling with Lives, a charity set up by families bereaved by gambling-related suicide. A 2023 Office for Health Improvement and Disparities study estimated there are up to 496 suicides related to gambling every year in England alone.
Earlier this year, the Premier League announced it will phase-out front-of-shirt gambling sponsors by the 2026/27 season. But a government whitepaper on gambling reform, published in April, took no action on gambling advertising in football despite a recent study finding that up to 3500 gambling logos were visible during a single televised Premier League game – only 7% were on the front of shirts.
Another study found that fans received 11,000 gambling messages during the opening weekend of the Premier League season in August.
The Club will work in partnership with Gambling with Lives to promote preventative messages and information, as well as provide training and education about the risks of gambling in the community.
Latest News
How CommsHub Built-In Failover Protects High-Volume Messaging Businesses

In today’s connected world, a single missed message can have a ripple effect far beyond its intended recipient. For high-volume messaging businesses, from fintech to e-commerce, reliability isn’t just a feature; it’s the foundation.
At CommsHub, we’ve seen how even the most robust communication strategies can fall apart when traffic isn’t managed intelligently. That’s why built-in failover isn’t an add-on for us, it’s at the very core of our platform architecture.
The Hidden Risk in Messaging at Scale
Sending a million messages is easy. Delivering a million messages on time without losses, delays, or duplicates is the real challenge.
Traditional messaging setups often rely on a primary route, with a manual backup plan in case of outages. The problem? Manual intervention takes time and every second loss increases the risk of failed conversions, missed verifications and frustrated customers.
For some sectors, a five-minute delay can mean thousands in lost revenue. For others, it can damage trust irreparably.
How Our Failover Works
CommsHub’s built-in failover system works like an automated traffic director.
- Real-Time Route Monitoring: Every active channel is monitored for delivery speed, message status and error rates.
- Instant Automatic Switching: If performance drops below a set threshold or a provider experiences downtime traffic is instantly redirected to the next best available route.
- Multi-Level Redundancy: We don’t just fail over once. Traffic can cascade through multiple backup routes until successful delivery is confirmed.
This means campaigns keep running without interruption, even when unexpected technical issues occur in the background.
The Numbers Behind It
In controlled environments, we’ve observed that our failover logic reduces message loss to near zero. While previously around 17% of messages were considered as lost or undelivered – while in reality, fallback mechanism saves them.
The architecture also ensures that when switching routes, there’s no spike in costs thanks to our intelligent routing engine, which considers provider pricing in real time.
Protecting Revenue and Reputation
The immediate benefit is obvious: you don’t lose communication with your audience. But the deeper value lies in protecting both revenue and reputation.
For high-volume businesses, the stakes are high:
A trading platform missing two-factor authentication codes risks losing active traders.
An e-commerce brand failing to deliver time-sensitive promotions risks wasted ad spend.
A fintech company delaying fraud alerts risks customer churn.
CommsHub’s failover was designed to address these risks without requiring extra integration work or manual monitoring.
Engineering for the Future of Messaging
We see failover not as a safety net, but as a structural pillar of next-generation communication platforms. As channels diversify and volumes grow, redundancy and intelligent routing will be as essential as delivery speed and analytics.
This is why we’ve invested heavily in creating an architecture that can evolve with market needs from adding new providers in days instead of weeks, to scaling traffic instantly during spikes.
The result? Businesses that can move faster, sleep easier and deliver messages with confidence.
In messaging, there’s no such thing as “just a delay.”
Every second counts and with built-in failover, those seconds are always on your side.
Meet Us at SBC Summit Lisbon 2025
We’ll be showcasing CommsHub’s next-generation messaging solutions at SBC Summit Lisbon 2025, from 16-18 September.
Visit us at Booth D181 to see how built-in failover can help your business deliver every message with confidence.
The post How CommsHub Built-In Failover Protects High-Volume Messaging Businesses appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Conferences in Europe
New Gamification Academy at SBC Summit to Present Fresh Approaches to Player Engagement

With gamification emerging as a driving force in the casino industry, SBC Summit introduces the Gamification Academy, an initiative built to confront pain points in engagement, retention, loyalty, and differentiation by exploring what truly keeps players coming back.
Launched in partnership with leading iGaming turnkey solutions provider Soft2Bet, the Gamification Academy will take place on Tuesday, 16th September, at the Sala Tejo, MEO Arena.
The programme forms part of SBC’s newly introduced Tech Academies, a series of immersive learning streams designed to arm summit attendees with practical know-how in AI, marketing, Web 3.0 & blockchain, and gamification.
Delegates can anticipate discussions examining the role of personalisation in driving loyalty, strategies for balancing gamified features with brand authenticity, and honest reflections on both the successes and challenges of gamification in the industry.
“Gamification has transformed how people interact with digital products across industries, and iGaming is no exception,” SBC Founder and CEO Rasmus Sojmark said.
“Players now expect fun, engaging, and rewarding experiences, and that’s exactly what gamification delivers. The Gamification Academy will show the industry how to apply these proven principles to build deeper connections, keep players returning, and create more meaningful player journeys,” he added.
Kicking off the Academy, Soft2Bet’s Chief Product Officer Yoel Zuckerberg will lead the ‘Introduction to Gamification & Player Engagement’ workshop. Setting the stage for the day, the session offers a comprehensive overview of gamification’s power and how it has shaped the industry in recent years.
Chief Business Development Officer Toni Jermaniš (SofaScore), CEO & Co-Founder Josh Jones (Rise & Hustle), and Senior Solutions Engineer Alec Gehlot (Optimove) will focus on the player retention angle through their ‘Why Personalisation is the Key to Retention‘ panel moderated by Soft2Bet’s Chief Business Development Officer Martin Collins. The session will explore how tailored offers, customisable interfaces, and personalised recommendations are giving players more control over their experience and, in turn, strengthening loyalty and long-term value.
Following a networking break, two case studies will spotlight real-world lessons from gamification, dissecting what works, what doesn’t, and how to measure success.
First up is the case study titled “Baking in Gamification During Design”, led by Alexis Wicen (CEO, Scatters Group). In this session, delegates can learn how to weave gamification into their products without losing brand authenticity. Drawing on real-world examples, the session will examine where brands have succeeded in integrating gamification into their games and platforms, and where they have fallen short, showing delegates how to approach gamification more effectively in their own projects.
The second case study, ‘The Metrics of Gamification’, will examine where the impact of gamification is most evident and how brands can measure it effectively. Featuring Uri Admon (CEO, Captain Up), the session will cover key factors such as retention, loyalty, engagement, revenue, and player enjoyment, helping delegates understand how to balance player needs with company goals.
The Academy will close with ‘The Five Steps of Gamification,’ a panel hosted by Soft2Bet’s Head of Sales, Alon Eshed, joined by Helen Walton (Founder & CCO, G Games), David Olim (CEO, FootAR), and Tom Jang Lemke (CEO and Founder, SavageTech). By breaking down the fundamental building blocks of gamification, including rewards, progression, competition, and storytelling, the session will highlight how these principles form the foundation of more engaging and personalised player experiences.
The Gamification Academy will feature at the upcoming SBC Summit 2025, SBC’s global flagship event, taking place at Feira Internacional de Lisboa and MEO Arena from 16–18 September. The summit will also host a six-track conference, a 135,000 square meter exhibition, the Affiliate Leaders Summit and Payment Expert Summit, plus a full schedule of evening networking events.
Participation in the Tech Academies is exclusively for VIP Event Pass and Expo+ holders only.
You can RSVP to attend our tech academies here.
VIP Event Pass: Access to the show floor, all networking areas and conference sessions, complimentary food and drink from the summit’s food festival and access to exclusive evening networking sessions and parties.
Group VIP Event Pass: Get your passes for just €400 each when you purchase for three or more people (a saving of €200 per ticket!) – perfect for bringing your team along.
Expo+ Pass: Access to the show floor, conference sessions and daytime networking only.
Expo Only Pass: Our free option, which gives you access to the show floor only. This is perfect for individuals from outside the gaming industry who want to explore potential partnerships. Please note that this will not grant you access to our academies.
Operator and Affiliate Passes: Operators and affiliates are eligible for a free VIP event pass. Simply apply.
The post New Gamification Academy at SBC Summit to Present Fresh Approaches to Player Engagement appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Bodog Canada
Casino Games and Console Games: Are They Really That Different?

Games come in many shapes and sizes. This has long been the case. The digital age brings everything from slot machines to sprawling console adventures. Casino titles and console games might look like they live in two different worlds. One is often focused on quick play and chance. The other leans into storylines and hours of immersion.
There are definitely a lot of differences. But there are similarities and overlaps that not everybody has considered.
Two Industries, One Trend: Growth and Choice
One of the clearest similarities between casino games and console gaming is how both industries have grown in recent years. Players now face huge menus of choices.
Casino fans know that there can be some very big libraries and even new titles appearing by the week. They are all trying to stand out with a new theme or mechanic (or just new characters). New and emerging markets like Canada still benefit from the huge libraries that are available. Bodog Canada is a casino that has a lot of different slot games as well as a lot of traditional table games. Blackjack and similar options are ubiquitous – there are even new developments and tweaks to the gameplay.
Big slot developers and brands may even create a lot of different new games for the market. There are enough for brands to even advertise regular slots of the week or similar.
Meanwhile, the console market has exploded. There are AAA open-world adventures and indie gems. The huge number of games caters to different tastes. Just like casino libraries, console platforms thrive on variety. This abundance means players in both spaces are never short of something new to try.
The numbers definitely back this up. A record number of new titles were launched in 2024 on Steam. There were over 15,000 new titles. Nobody could possibly try all of the games that have been put out on the market. Steam is a PC platform – we have seen a similar pattern in other console games.
Different Styles of Play
There’s no denying that the styles of play differ. Casino games are designed around quick interactions. A spin of a roulette wheel or a few seconds on a slot machine. All of these fit neatly into short bursts. Console games often ask for long sessions. They draw people in with depth and are designed to be longer. Some even take hundreds of hours to complete or give open-world designs people can explore endlessly.
But even here, there are overlaps. Casual console games like mobile ports and indie titles can mimic the quick pace of casino games. Think of puzzle games or arcade-style shooters that are all about instant gratification. They echo the same “jump in and jump out” model seen in many casino titles.
Shared Themes and Visuals
Themes are another place where links appear. Casino developers know that visuals matter. Slots come dressed in everything from mythology to sci-fi to jungle adventures. Console games also lean heavily on themes. They build entire worlds around specific styles.
In both spaces, developers reuse familiar ideas because they work. Things like mythology and science fiction appear across slot libraries and console releases. The art and atmosphere can often feel strikingly similar, even if the gameplay itself is very different.
Mechanics: Skill vs Chance
One of the biggest differences lies in mechanics. Casino games are usually driven by chance. Spins and card draws are random – strategy often plays a secondary role. In contrast, console games usually rely heavily on skill.
Some casino titles do bring elements of strategy into play. Poker requires both luck and skill, and blackjack asks players to think carefully about probability. Console games sometimes lean into randomness, too. Loot systems or even dice-roll mechanics mimic the uncertainty of chance found in casinos.
Social Experiences
Another interesting similarity is the social side. Some casino games have turned into shared experiences. Players can sit at the same table virtually in a live dealer game and interact with others. Console gaming has mirrored this with online multiplayer. This could mean teaming up in a shooter. It could also be facing off in a sports game; the social element keeps people engaged.
Both industries understand the power of community. It’s no longer just about the game itself. The social element is huge.
Technology Driving Both
Technology has been the engine behind the rise of both casino and console games. Casino developers have embraced mobile play and used HTML5. Console makers have pushed graphics and processing power to create lifelike worlds.
Interestingly, both industries borrow from each other here. Casino games sometimes mimic console-style graphics and storytelling. Some console games sneak in casino-style mini-games, like card tables or slot-style mechanics tucked inside larger adventures.
The post Casino Games and Console Games: Are They Really That Different? appeared first on Gaming and Gambling Industry in the Americas.
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