Latest News
European Gaming Q1 2024 Meetup: Exploring Innovation, Marketing, and the iGaming Industry Hubs

HIPTHER’s staple Quarterly Meetups for the Gaming industry have officially returned for 2024! The European Gaming Q1 Meetup 2024 took place on February 28 online, featuring an incredible lineup of speakers, including Ilya Machavariani, CEO and Senior Partner at 4H Agency, Krysta Muscat and Kevin Perks, International Recruiters at Van Kaizen, Jekaterina Dubnicka, Marketing & Communications Manager at Slotsjudge, Eberhard Dürrschmid, CEO at Golden Whale Productions, and John Chyriwsky, Head of Marketing at Fincore Ltd. HIPTHER’s Co-founder and Host-Extraordinaire, Zoltan Tuendik, moderated the panel discussions.
The Meetup sessions explored the gaming and technology industry, focusing on various topics such as the importance of innovation and transformation in the sector, strategies to combat offshore gambling, the emergence of Malta and the Isle of Man as iGaming industry hubs, potential future hubs for the gambling industry, marketing strategies in the gaming industry, and innovation in the gaming with a particular emphasis on personalization.
Gaming and TECH: Future Journey and Fight Against Offshore Gambling
The meeting kicked off highlighting the importance and intersection of gaming and technology industries, which will be explored at the upcoming MARE BALTICUM and Prague Gaming & TECH Summits by HIPTHER. Our first guest, Ilya Machavariani, CEO and Senior Partner at 4H Agency delved further into technology and the latest strategies in the global fight against offshore gambling.
Ilya discussed strategies to combat offshore gambling, proposing a separation into active and passive instruments. He suggested that governments should legalize all verticals of the industry and ensure operators obtain licenses. Ilya also emphasized the importance of transparent and sensible regulations and the role of technology in identifying and preventing access to offshore gambling sites. He highlighted the challenges of regulating and blocking websites from a governmental perspective and the need for international cooperation.
The discussion ended with a focus on improved consumer protection measures and the importance of educating consumers about potential risks associated with illegal gambling activities.
Gaming Industry Hubs: Malta, Isle of Man and Beyond
For the 2nd Session of the European Gaming Q1 Meetup, we welcomed Krysta Muscat and Kevin Perks, International Recruiters at Van Kaizen, to discuss iGaming hubs and hotspots of the Gaming Industry. Kevin introduced their global headhunting company that primarily serves the gaming sector, recruiting for approximately 140 businesses. The discussion revolved around the factors contributing to Malta and the Isle of Man emerging as hubs for the iGaming industry, with Krysta highlighting Malta’s modernized infrastructure and highly regulated environment, and Kevin pointing out the supportive government and dedicated government agency in the Isle of Man, along with its tax breaks. Both islands were found to have a skilled workforce and a multilingual population. Kevin also discussed the benefits of living on the Isle of Man, emphasizing the slower pace of life, the island’s 40% open space, and its status as one of the safest places in Europe. The discussion ended on the topic of the government’s efforts to promote the island and attract businesses, with a focus on recruitment strategies for gaming companies in competitive markets.
The session concluded with a discussion on potential future hubs for the iGaming industry, with Krysta and Kevin emphasizing on the US, Canada, Spain, Portugal, the UK, and Bulgaria, highlighting the significant interest and potential opportunities in these regions.
Marketing, Communication, and Community building in iGaming
In this first Marketing-focused session, Zoltan hosted our special guest Jekaterina Dubnicka – Marketing & Communications Manager at Slotsjudge. The conversation focused on marketing strategies in the gaming industry, with Jekaterina explaining the shift towards more interactive and immersive content by leveraging social media and video interviews, and focusing on SEO tools to gain insights into audience interests. She also provided insight into the role of community in the gaming experience, the importance of navigating strict regulatory environments while maintaining compliance and a strong brand voice, the importance of innovation in content creation and delivery, and emerging trends in the gaming industry.
Innovation and Personalization in Gaming Industry
The last panel discussion focused on innovation in the gaming industry, with a particular emphasis on personalization. Eberhard Dürrschmid, CEO at Golden Whale, and John Chyriwsky, Head of Marketing at Fincore Ltd joined us to discuss innovation in iGaming and Sports Betting. John highlighted the potential for improvement in the area of personalization and user experience, suggesting that platforms should “step up” to respond better to user needs. Eberhard pointed out the industry’s flexibility and the importance of meeting customer expectations, while John emphasized the need to enhance customer experience, suggesting the use of real-time data to create personalized experiences. He cited examples of successful companies that prioritize customer experience, such as Amazon and Uber. Eberhard also discussed the potential of AI and machine learning in the industry. The conversation concluded with a group exercise where participants shared their hopes for technology implementation in the gaming industry by the end of 2024.
Coming up Next:
Watch the recording of the European Gaming Q1 Meetup on HIPTHER TV, and keep an eye out for our next European Gaming Quarterly Meetups!
Betgoodwin
EveryMatrix expands BetGoodwin partnership with full UK turnkey sportsbook launch

Reading Time: < 1 minute
EveryMatrix has expanded its partnership with rapidly growing UK operator BetGoodwin, launching a full turnkey sports solution that cements the operator’s position among the UK’s top bookmakers.
This follows a multi-year full turnkey agreement signed in 2024 and enables BetGoodwin, one of UK’s most visible growing brands, to benefit from a sportsbook designed specifically for the regulated market and supported by dedicated trading and operational teams based in London.
The platform offers extensive coverage with more than 200,000 monthly live events and up to 800 live markets on English Premier League fixtures, alongside a rich feature set that includes pre-live and live Bet Builder across 11 sports, early/partial/auto cash out, and Odds Boost.
Bonusing tools further enhance customer engagement through automated welcome bonuses, dynamic promotions, and advanced cross-sell capabilities.
BetGoodwin has also gone live with EveryMatrix’s new horse racing product. Built from the ground up in just six months, it delivers a comprehensive, round-the-clock service featuring more than 10,000 monthly races from 20+ global jurisdictions.
It includes live streaming, extensive market coverage, and deep integration with EveryMatrix’s wider technology stack, providing BetGoodwin with a flexible, scalable racing solution available online, in retail, or via telebetting.
Working in harmony with the existing OddsMatrix sports platform, the horse racing product allows BetGoodwin to benefit from dynamic cross-product bonusing, granular odds management, and automated pricing and settlement tools.
BetGoodwin is the latest UK operator to go live with the EveryMatrix platform following BetTOM, Octobet, Bet360, Ken Howells, and many more.
Ebbe Groes, Group CEO and Co-Founder, EveryMatrix, said: “BetGoodwin is a top 20 UK operator so giving them a world-class sportsbook with the most advanced features and our horse racing product was the next step following our full turnkey roll out. We’re confident it will drive major value for their customers and the business.”
Julian Head, CEO, BetGoodwin, said: “This is a milestone launch for BetGoodwin. EveryMatrix’s modern sportsbook gives us a feature-rich platform that will help deliver an outstanding betting experience to our customers, while the new horse racing product strengthens one of our business-critical verticals.”
The post EveryMatrix expands BetGoodwin partnership with full UK turnkey sportsbook launch appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Edvardas Sadosvkis CPO at ICONIC21
Feel the power of the moon in Midnight Queen from ICONIC21

Reading Time: 2 minutes
When the moon rises, the Queen awakens, and big wins can be triggered in the latest slot release from the in-demand iGaming content provider
Online casino operators can give their players the fright of their lives with Midnight Queen, the latest slot launch from in-demand iGaming content provider, ICONIC21.
Midnight Queen is a Vampire-themed slot that’s perfect for entertaining players during the Halloween season and beyond.
It brings vampire mystique to a 5×4 gameboard, where every Moon symbol feeds the hunger for even bigger wins. But this is a game where power doesn’t strike at random; it accumulates.
Player engagement is high thanks to the anticipation built into the game.
Glowing Frames lock onto the reels and wait. Each Moon that lands inside then pushes the Global Multiplier higher, building tension across a 10-spin cycle.
On the final spin, all the Glowing Frames transform into Wilds, delivering the bite – and big win potential – that players have been waiting for.
This combination of anticipation and frighteningly big wins – the game’s max win is 5,000x – allows operators to draw players in and then deliver the thrills (and chills) they are seeking.
As with all ICONIC21’s online slot games, Midnight Queen is available in both real money and sweepstakes formats.
Edvardas Sadosvkis, CPO at ICONIC21, said: “Spooky season is very much upon us, and in Midnight Queen, operators have a slot game they can use to frighten players through spine-tingling gameplay and big win potential.
“The best thing about Midnight Queen is that the theme is enjoyed long after Halloween has ended, and the team has done a great job of producing a gameplay experience that draws players in, builds anticipation and then has the potential to deliver the big wins they are seeking.
“This is a great addition to our portfolio, and we look forward to seeing our operators add it to their lobbies and to benefit from the repeat play, high engagement and consistent revenue growth that Midnight Queen provides.”
The post Feel the power of the moon in Midnight Queen from ICONIC21 appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Evoplay
Evoplay returns to the prairie in Young Buffalo Coins

Reading Time: < 1 minute
Evoplay, the award-winning game development studio, has released Young Buffalo Coins, the second instalment in its popular Young Buffalo series.
Following the success of the original title, the new game takes players back to the wild prairies for another action-packed adventure, combining fast-paced gameplay, sticky coins, and big jackpot opportunities.
When four symbols appear in the middle row, the bonus game begins, giving players three spins to collect as many symbols as possible. Each new coin resets the counter, and the feature continues until no spins remain, while filling all twelve spaces awards the Grand Jackpot.
Excitement increases through the Buffalo Awakening feature, which can trigger the bonus game at any moment, while the Buffalo Spirit awards random multipliers from x2 to x12, enhancing prizes and maintaining momentum.
During the feature, players can land bonus coins, sticky symbols, and the powerful Buffalo Collector, as well as mystery and mystery jackpot icons.
Each Buffalo collects the values and jackpots from every symbol on the reels, while mystery transforms into any regular icon, and mystery jackpot reveals a guaranteed Mini, Mega, or Super Jackpot.
Those eager to jump straight into the action can use the Bonus Buy option to access the Bonus Game instantly.
With its vibrant design, rewarding features, and the unmistakable spirit of the plains, Young Buffalo Coins marks a bold new chapter in one of Evoplay’s most exciting series.
Ivan Kravchuk, CEO at Evoplay, said: “Young Buffalo Coins captures the raw freedom of the open prairie through features that keep the excitement going.
“From sticky symbols and increasing multipliers to explosive jackpots, it’s a game that perfectly showcases Evoplay’s talent for creating vibrant, high-energy experiences.”
The post Evoplay returns to the prairie in Young Buffalo Coins appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
-
Amusnet6 days ago
Week 42/2025 slot games releases
-
ACMA6 days ago
ACMA Blocks More Illegal Online Gambling Sites
-
Africa6 days ago
SOFTSWISS Deepens Safer Play as Platinum Partner of Responsible Gambling Summit 2025
-
ELA Games7 days ago
ELA Games Casts Its Latest Spell with Witches’ Book
-
Anne Marie Caulfield6 days ago
GRAI Publishes 2025-2027 Strategy Statement
-
bingo6 days ago
UK Govt Launches Consultation on Category D Gaming Machines and Licensing for Bingo Premises
-
BCAP6 days ago
CAP and BCAP Update Guidance on Protecting Under-18s in Gambling and Lotteries Advertising
-
Africa6 days ago
NLGRB Intensifies Nationwide Crackdown on Illegal Gaming Operations