Industry News

Blackjack History and Specific Features of the Game

Published

6 years ago

March 19, 2020

Blackjack commands the most massive following of all table games in both online and offline gambling platforms. The game’s fame is rooted in having been around for a long time and also its depiction in pop culture creations such as films, TV shows, and even literature pieces. Blackjack is a card comparing game that pits one or several gamers against a croupier, and each one gets their turn to try and beat the house. Blackjack has a rich history that has helped build it up to the well-respected game. Also, numerous blackjack strategy approaches have come up over the years to draw the attention of a bigger fan base.

The Beginning

Blackjack roots can be traced back to the early eighteenth century. Like most games that have been around long, the origins of blackjack are muddled and are still the subject of argument to date. Even so, it is agreed that the indulgent didn’t come to be from the actions of a single person or a particular point in time. Instead, it is the result of gambling evolution that continues to this date, especially with the entry of online casinos. The revolution of blackjack to what it is today took different roots in history, and some of the most popular theories include:

French casinos: The most common belief of blackjack origins is that the game has its roots in French casinos. The game popped up in the country’s gambling establishments in the early 1700s as Vingt-et-Un, which translates to 21. This game is believed to have been a variation of other popular card games at the time that dominated the gambling scene such as Chemin de Fer.
Spanish roots: Spaniards have also been linked to the game of blackjack. During the eighteenth century, Spanish casinos offered a similar version of what is played today dubbed Trente-Un, which translates to 31. In the game, players had to gain a card value of thirty-one using only three cards before the dealer did. This is ten cards more than what is used today.
Rome casinos: It is no secret that ancient Rome was home to thriving gambling habits among its citizens, especially soldiers. It is believed that the Romans played the game with wooden planks in the place of cards with each block holding a different numerical value. However, there is no evidence of the link between this game and modern blackjack, but the Romans love for gambling makes it a popular theory nonetheless.

The American Twist

Out of the three games believed to have inspired the game, the French version is the one that gained the most popularity and spread around the world. The set was well-accepted in North America where it was introduced during the French revolution by colonists. The game still held on to some traditional rules, including the limitation that only the croupier was allowed to double. Also, a betting round was played before the next playing card was dealt. The game still went by the name twenty-one when it reached Nevada in the early twentieth century, which was around the time that casinos were made legal.

With the gambling sector scrambling to get as much attention with its newfound legality, some rule changes were made. On top of the usual stakes, players were allowed to gamble on a special bet. In the hand, players would win if it contained once of the two black jacks used in the deck – the jack of clubs or that of spades. On top of that, the Ace of Spades had an odds upgrade where it would pay ten to one. As the game gained more popularity, gambling destinations soon dropped these special stakes, but the name blackjack stuck from the peculiar bet that made it famous. Today, the value of the Ace of Spades is juggled depending on the dealt hand.

Blackjack Gameplay and Features

Over the years, numerous variations of blackjack have cropped up in a bid to keep the popularity of the game alive. Even so, all versions of the game are similar to the classic version with only a few twists in the rules that act as building blocks for slightly different gameplay experience. In blackjack and all its variations, the gameplay procedure remains constant. Players need to have a card value of 21 or one close to it before the dealer. If the number goes over 21, whoever holds it busts and automatically loses the round. Also, if the card value is lower than that of the dealer’s, then the player loses. Each card contributes a different value to the hand as follows:

The numbered cards award face value. For instance, a 3 card counts as three and a 10 card counts as ten.
The face cards, which are the kings, queens, and jacks, all award ten.
The Ace counts as one or eleven. The considered value varies depending on which card would be most valuable to the hand. For instance, the eleven-card used in a hand valued at ten or less is handy but would bust if it is higher.

Now with the most basic rule down, here is a look at how a round of blackjack goes down:

The Purchase of Chips

This is necessary for brick and mortar casinos since real money is not used at the tables. In online and live gambling dens, however, the player’s balance is automatically changed to virtual chips once the game is launched.

Wager Placement

Blackjack round only begin once the player has placed their stake in the betting circle. Depending on the gaming club, the ring could be the casino logo or that of the game. The stakes are determined the chips used with each one being matched to a credit or cash value. The minimum stake also varies from one set to another. Online blackjack variations accommodate bets as little as a couple of pennies while land-based versions rarely go below five dollars.

Dealing of Cards

Blackjack is either conducted by a croupier in location-based and live casinos while an RNG serves the purpose in online versions. One card is handed out to the player face up while the dealer takes one face down. Another card is handed to the gambler face up, and the dealer receives one face-up as well. The dealing of cards marks the real beginning of the game.

Playing the Hand

From the two cards handed out, players have to add the values, which adds up to a value between 4 and 21. If the cards are an Ace of Spades and a ten-card, the round automatically ends with the player as the winner unless the dealer also has 21. In that case, no win is granted, but the original stake is not lost. If the value is not a blackjack, there are several ways that the gambler can proceed, and they include:

Stand	If the first two cards are of an acceptable value, this move will end the round and require the dealer to reveal their cards.
Hit	If there is adequate room to improve the card total, the croupier will deal more cards until one chooses to stand or busts by going over 21.
Double down	If the card value is advantageous, one can choose to double their wager and receive an additional card. The added bet allows one to take or turn down the card after seeing its value.
Split	If the first two cards are of the same value, one can choose to separate them and have different stakes for each. Therefore, the gambler will be playing two hands that begin with an equal card value.
Surrender	If the first two cards are not of suitable value, players can choose to return the cards but at the loss of half their bet.

In Brief

Blackjack is a continually evolving game with variations popping up now and then to challenge the norm. Players can access the game and its various versions online and offline in a wide variety.

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PayDo Launches Unified Payment Infrastructure Suite for Digital Businesses

Published

1 week ago

December 9, 2025

Niji Narayan

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Reading Time: 2 minutes

PayDo, a leading global payment ecosystem founded by Serhii Zakharov – who at just 25 became one of the youngest CEOs approved by the FCA to run an Electronic Money Institution in the UK, announced a series of strategic infrastructure launches designed to dismantle the costly complexity of modern payment stacks.

The releases—Direct SEPA & SEPA Instant access, USD SWIFT Accounts, Dedicated C2B Open Banking Collections Accounts and Direct VISA and MasterCard Acquiring—are not standalone products, but integrated components of PayDo’s unified platform.

For the first time, online businesses can access this comprehensive suite under a single contract, one technical integration and with a dedicated account manager, eliminating the operational burden of managing multiple providers.

The launches directly address the primary pain points of payment fragmentation: high costs from intermediaries, slow settlement times, compliance overhead and loss of control. By securing direct memberships and building proprietary technology, PayDo now offers businesses enterprise-grade infrastructure with the agility of a FinTech.

The new services include:

• Direct SEPA & SEPA Instant: As a direct SEPA member, PayDo provides native European processing with no intermediary routing. This ensures faster, lower-cost euro transactions with immediate settlement capabilities via SEPA Instant.

• USD SWIFT Accounts: Online businesses can now receive dedicated USD account details via the SWIFT network, significantly reducing delays and fees associated with cross-border USD transactions, a critical need for a variety of cross-border operating online businesses.

• Dedicated C2B Open Banking Collections Accounts: A pioneering innovation, this service revolutionises how businesses receive payments. It enables instant, direct bank-to-business transfers from customers, offering an alternative to card networks with correct funds tracking and allocation, lower costs and real-time settlement. Functionality supports processing of +100,000 daily transactions.

• Launch of Direct Acquiring: PayDo is now a principal member acquirer for both Visa and Mastercard. This direct relationship removes a layer of intermediaries, reducing processing costs, improving authorisation rates and giving merchants greater control and transparency over their card payment flows.

These services are delivered within PayDo’s unified ecosystem, which also includes its signatory innovation – non-redirect E-Wallet checkout. This earlier innovation provided merchants with full friendly-fraud protection without any rolling reserve requirements. The new ecosystem approach allows companies in sectors like e-commerce, IT services, marketplaces, gaming and other Fintechs to streamline their entire financial operations, turning payment management from a resource drain into a competitive advantage.

Serhii Zakharov, CEO and Founder of PayDo, said: “For years, businesses have been forced to stitch together a patchwork of payment providers, each adding cost, complexity, and delay. We believe the future is not in more fragmentation, but in intelligent unification. These launches are not just new features; they are the foundational pillars of a coherent ecosystem. We are giving our clients direct control over the core rails of finance—from SEPA and SWIFT to card acquiring and Open Banking—all through one partnership. This is how we eliminate the hidden tax of fragmentation and empower businesses to scale globally with clarity and efficiency.”

PayDo’s ecosystem now processes over €5B annually for over 1000 businesses, leveraging its full regulatory compliance in the UK, Canada and the EU. The company’s direct infrastructure model is proving that the next wave of Fintech growth will be driven by consolidation and seamless integration, not further division.

The post PayDo Launches Unified Payment Infrastructure Suite for Digital Businesses appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

Free Bet

Meridianbet Reports Renewed Engagement in Custom Prediction Markets in H2 2025

Published

1 week ago

December 9, 2025

Niji Narayan

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Reading Time: 2 minutes

While prediction markets have recently attracted increased public attention across politics, finance and culture, Meridianbet, part of the Golden Matrix Group has supported user-generated real-world prediction markets for more than a decade through its proprietary product branded as Free Bet.

For the second half of 2025, customer participation on the Free Bet platform has recorded an 11.5% increase in ticket volumes, reflecting renewed engagement across prediction markets tied to major elections, entertainment outcomes, weather forecasting and novelty-event propositions. Free Bet continues to represent a relatively small and non-material portion of Meridianbet’s overall wagering activity.

Free Bet allows customers to propose wagers on measurable real-world outcomes across sports, politics, entertainment awards, weather forecasting, financial milestones and social statistics. Once a proposed market passes regulatory, settlement and risk review, Meridianbet acts as the professional market maker, prices the odds and takes the lay side of each wager within the Company’s licensed sportsbook framework. This single-market-maker structure enables the delivery of prediction-market-style wagering to mass-market users while ensuring regulatory compliance, operational stability and standardised settlement.

In practical terms, customers initiate Free Bet markets by submitting their own proposed prediction events through Meridianbet’s platforms or retail network. Each submission is reviewed to ensure that the proposed event is lawful, ethically appropriate, clearly measurable and capable of unambiguous settlement under applicable regulatory standards. Only after passing these checks is the event accepted and priced by Meridianbet’s trading operators, who establish odds and offer the market to the customer for wagering.

Top Prediction Markets on Meridianbet

Over the past five years, Meridianbet customers have created and wagered on thousands of custom prediction markets reflecting major real-world outcomes across political cycles, cultural awards, financial milestones, weather forecasting and social trends.

Based on internal ticket volume and platform engagement data, the following five prediction markets have ranked among the most actively played on Meridianbet during this period:

U.S. Presidential Election

Binary outcome markets and related propositions tied to the U.S. presidential election results.

Global Entertainment Awards

Custom markets associated with major award outcomes including Oscars Best Picture and BBC Sports Personality of the Year.

Weather Prediction Markets

Seasonal and location-specific forecasts, including snowfall occurrence and temperature benchmark outcomes during late winter and early spring periods.

Social Outcome Markets

Demographic and statistical propositions connected to public milestones, including birth-gender distributions during peak holiday periods and other large-scale social outcome measurements.

Regulatory & Availability Notice

The Free Bet product and related prediction market offerings are provided strictly in accordance with applicable national and local regulatory requirements and are available only in jurisdictions where such wagering formats are duly authorised by law.

Availability, market scope and wagering features may vary by location and regulatory regime. Certain jurisdictions may restrict or prohibit participation in custom prediction-based wagering products.

The post Meridianbet Reports Renewed Engagement in Custom Prediction Markets in H2 2025 appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

AI-Driven Optimisation

HilltopAds Introduces Dedicated iGaming Feature Suite and Managed Performance Service

Published

2 weeks ago

December 5, 2025

Niji Narayan

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Reading Time: < 1 minute

HilltopAds announced the rollout of a specialised feature set built exclusively for iGaming advertisers, reinforcing the company’s focus on performance-driven media buying across global markets.

At the center of the release are newly launched, ready-to-use white- and blacklists, curated from premium traffic sources that have consistently shown strong results for iGaming campaigns. These lists are derived from performance data across thousands of active advertisers and are designed to reduce testing time while increasing the predictability of campaign outcomes.

HilltopAds is also introducing a full-managed service, giving advertisers access to dedicated iGaming specialists who will set up, launch and continuously optimise campaigns based on individual KPI requirements. This service aims to support teams looking for deeper expertise, streamlined workflows or hands-off performance management.

To mark the launch, HilltopAds is providing a $2000 bonus for all direct iGaming advertisers making their first deposit of $5000 or more using the promo code IGAVCIP.

These updates complement HilltopAds’ existing capabilities for the iGaming sector, including:

• Massive Global Reach: Over 273B monthly impressions available across 250+ countries.

• Premium Direct Traffic: Access to 39,000+ vetted websites suitable for iGaming user acquisition.

• AI-Driven Optimisation: Automated tools focused on maximising bets, deposits and high-value player actions.

• Flexible Bidding Models: CPM, CPC and CPA Goal options tailored for scale and performance control.

• Specialised Network Infrastructure: Built to support consistent delivery, stable volumes and transparent reporting for regulated verticals.

With these additions, HilltopAds aims to provide iGaming advertisers with a more data-grounded, efficient and scalable environment for user acquisition.

The post HilltopAds Introduces Dedicated iGaming Feature Suite and Managed Performance Service appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.