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Azerion raises €200 million in eye-catching expansion deal

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Investors recognise Azerion’s huge potential in online games and user engagement

This second significant financing in two years will pave the way for Azerion to become a major platform player

Azerion has attracted much investor interest with a new funding package aimed at accelerating the company’s growth.

The new funds will be used (among other things) to finance multiple acquisitions across its platform, adding both exciting new gaming content as well as creating revenue opportunities. These acquisitions help us in our mission to bring a wide range of entertainment content for consumers while enabling content providers to engage with users in a safe, reliable and meaningful way.

This new issue will refinance a €100 million bond issued on the Frankfurt exchange last year. It is rare for a private company to raise these levels of capital, but Azerion’s track record of exponential growth supplemented by acquiring gaming and monetisation technology companies and quickly building their revenue has grabbed investor attention. Last year’s bond was met with significant investor interest and the company has experienced a similar response to this new bond.

“Online entertainment has become central to people’s lives,” says Atilla Aytekin, Azerion’s co-CEO. “It has enormous business potential. Our vision is to make digital entertainment better, safer, and more reliable. That way everyone can enjoy the basic human need to play in a carefree environment, and advertising and publishing businesses can thrive.”

Since it was founded in 2015, Azerion has worked hard to create a digital entertainment platform for people of all ages to enjoy. This has been supported by an active acquisitions strategy, adding to the Azerion family 38 companies in the digital entertainment and technology sectors. Azerion layers these acquisitions on top of its existing business into a single, coherent platform. Within this ecosystem, these businesses have grown organically and work seamlessly with each other.

This has seen Azerion become a powerhouse in online entertainment providing a broad range of content to users and monetising it through in-app purchases and advertising — through a proprietary platform that provides safety, reliability and efficiency to all stakeholders.

“The gaming business represents a total annual market of  US$175 billion,” Atilla explains. “We’re well on our way to becoming the biggest platform in Europe with our vision to serve that market. Our goal is to create a safe, connected and intelligent ecosystem (enabled through our technology) that will accelerate the growth of European companies connected to our operations.”

The new bonds are expected to be listed on Nasdaq exchange in Stockholm.

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Regulating the Game 2026 Draft Program Unveiled, Spotlighting the Issues Shaping the Sector

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Regulating the Game has published the draft program for its 2026 Sydney conference, outlining a comprehensive agenda of keynotes, featured addresses, panels, and expert masterclasses examining the most consequential regulatory, policy and operational issues facing the global gambling sector.

Regulating the Game 2026 will be held 9–11 March 2026 at the Sofitel Sydney Wentworth and represents the sixth edition of the conference as a forum for rigorous, cross-jurisdictional engagement on gambling regulation and sector performance and uplift.

The draft program confirms that each conference day is anchored by keynote and featured speakers, whose addresses are designed to frame and contextualise the broader program of talks, panels and masterclasses that follow. These speakers bring senior executive leadership, policy and advisory insight, and deep subject-matter expertise, helping to frame the regulatory and operating environment, its trajectory, and the lenses through which the agenda is explored.

Across the three days, the program integrates:

  • Context-setting sessions that frame the regulatory and operating environment and its direction, including examinations of where gambling regulation and policy are heading, how enforcement and sanctioning approaches are evolving post-inquiry, and how governments and markets are responding to persistent black-market and grey-market pressures. These sessions establish the policy, strategic and operating lenses through which the broader agenda is explored.
  • Moderated panels that interrogate regulatory assumptions and reform outcomes in practice, including discussions on harm minimisation in increasingly data-driven environments, the limits and consequences of intensified regulation, and the interaction between market design, consumer behaviour and regulatory intent.
  • Expert masterclasses, including a session led by Jay Robinson focused on embedding the Responsible Gambling Officer role with purpose, authority and practical impact, and a second masterclass convened by the International Masters of Gaming Law, with final scope and focus to be confirmed. Together, these sessions are designed to support practical capability uplift and address the implementation risks that sit between policy intent and operational reality.
  • Industry Spotlight sessions, introduced in 2026, comprising tightly curated 15-minute presentations from incumbent organisations. These sessions provide a platform to articulate strategic direction, investment priorities and innovation pathways, and to examine what lies ahead for the sector as regulatory expectations, technology and market structures continue to evolve.

Collectively, the agenda addresses:

  • The trajectory of gambling regulation, enforcement and sanctioning frameworks
  • AML/CTF reform, financial crime risk and supervisory expectations
  • Safer gambling governance, harm minimisation and behavioural insight
  • Black market and grey market dynamics in increasingly regulated environments
  • Technology, data governance and the use of AI in regulatory and compliance systems
  • Leadership, accountability and the operational reality of reform delivery

While the program is deliberately broad, particular attention has been given to curating sessions and contributors that surface topical and often unresolved issues facing the sector. The agenda is designed to frame the current environment and its direction, provoke informed debate, stimulate curiosity, and act as a catalyst for new ways of thinking, innovation bets and next practice across regulation, policy and operations.

Paul Newson, Principal at Vanguard Overwatch and Founder of Regulating the Game, said the 2026 draft program reflects a deliberate architecture:

“The program is designed to open up the problem space, not to close it down. Early sessions are intended to frame the environment honestly and rigorously, so that the discussions that follow can interrogate options, trade-offs and solutions with clarity and discipline.”

He added:

“Regulating the Game is deliberately structured to move from context to analysis to application. The draft program makes that progression clear and intentional.”

The program is supported by flagship events including Pitch!, the RTG Global Awards Gala Dinner, and an expanded Exhibition Showcase, which together complement the formal agenda and support cross-sector engagement.

The draft program reflects the core structure of the conference, with final speaker confirmations and minor refinements to be completed in the coming week.

The post Regulating the Game 2026 Draft Program Unveiled, Spotlighting the Issues Shaping the Sector appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

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Adam Smart Director of Product Gaming at AppsFlyer

AppsFlyer State of Gaming Report: AI Is Flooding Mobile Gaming Marketing Channels and Raising the Cost of Standing Out

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State of Gaming for Marketers 2026 reveals how AI-driven scale, global UA spend, and China-based publishers are reshaping mobile gaming competition

AppsFlyer, the Modern Marketing Cloud, today released the State of Gaming for Marketers 2026, an in-depth analysis of how AI, creative scale, and rising paid pressure reshaped mobile gaming marketing in 2025. Drawing on AppsFlyer data, the report examines how studios adapted as marketing activity expanded faster than player attention.

In 2025, AI-enabled production coincided with a sharp increase in advertising across iOS and Android. Creative output scaled rapidly across all spending tiers, with top gaming advertisers producing between 2,400 and 2,600 creative variations per quarter, up 25–30% YoY. That expansion increased pressure on paid acquisition channels. Paid install share rose 10% YoY across iOS and Android, while ad impressions increased 20%, indicating a significant rise in the number of ads competing for the same pool of players. To manage rising marketing volume and fragmentation, AI-enabled tools became a common part of daily workflows with 46% of AI assistant queries focused on reporting and performance breakdowns, reflecting the need for faster visibility as data volumes grew.

“AI has dramatically increased the speed and volume at which games and marketing assets reach the market,” says Adam Smart, Director of Product, Gaming at AppsFlyer. “The result is not a shortage of creativity, but a surplus of it. As paid activity and creative supply expand faster than player attention, marketing success depends on how effectively teams can measure, interpret, and act on an increasing volume of fragmented signals.”

Additional key insights from the State of Gaming for Marketers 2026

  •     Global gaming app UA spend reached $25B in 2025. Midcore UA spend increased 28% YoY on iOS, while Android spend remained largely flat.
    ●     China-headquartered publishers increased their share of global gaming UA spend. Their share grew by 26% YoY in the UK, and 22% globally, with gains strongest on Android.
    ●     iOS paid installs reached record highs. Share in the UK rose across Casino (+13%), Hypercasual (+10%), and Midcore (+30%).
    ●     iOS advertisers expanded media mix to find incremental scale. iOS gaming advertisers increased the number of media sources they used by up to 15% YoY, reflecting growing fragmentation and the need to diversify beyond core channels.
    ●     AI is still used primarily to manage marketing scale, not strategy.  With 46% of AI assistant queries focused on reporting and performance breakdowns, teams are using AI to keep pace with rising data volumes rather than replace decision-making, but some genres are already employing more complex tasks and asks.

Methodology

AppsFlyer’s State of Gaming for Marketers 2026 is based on anonymized, aggregated data from 9.6 thousand gaming apps worldwide, analyzing 24.8 billion total installs, including 14.1 billion paid installs, alongside ad spend, creative production, monetization, AI-assisted workflows, and media source usage across iOS and Android during 2025.

The full report is available at: appsflyer.com/resources/reports/gaming-marketers/

The post AppsFlyer State of Gaming Report: AI Is Flooding Mobile Gaming Marketing Channels and Raising the Cost of Standing Out appeared first on Americas iGaming & Sports Betting News.

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Arena Racing Company

Arena Racing Company awarded United Arab Emirates Gaming-Related Vendor License

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Arena Racing Company (ARC) has been granted a Gaming-Related Vendor license from the United Arab Emirates’ General Commercial Gaming Authority (GCGRA), an independent entity of the UAE Federal Government with exclusive jurisdiction to regulate, license, and supervise all commercial gaming activities.

The license, operational with immediate effect, affords ARC the opportunity to provide its products and services to licensed operators in the region. Notably, the Racing1 Markets service, an all-in-one horse and greyhound racing solution delivered in conjunction with Racing1 alliance media rights partners at 1/ST CONTENT, Racecourse Media Group (RMG), and Tabcorp, alongside technical partner Pythia Sports. ARC has been added to the list of licensed vendors as per the GCGRA website.

Jack Whitaker, Commercial Manager at ARC, said: “Obtaining this license is a great achievement for ARC and its Racing1 partners. The emerging regulated UAE market is incredibly exciting, and we look forward to showcasing our innovative products and services in the region.”

The post Arena Racing Company awarded United Arab Emirates Gaming-Related Vendor License appeared first on Gaming and Gambling Industry Newsroom.

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