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Gaming & iGaming trends for 2021
Gaming and iGaming industries exploded in 2020 as the pandemic has only reinforced the new edge entertainment trend. In times of massive uncertainty, the world turned to simulate reality games as a new way to connect and unwind.
According to Statista, today there are already more than 2.7 billion video gamers worldwide. The entire video gaming market is expected to be worth over $200 bln by 2023. As to iGaming, around 1.6 billion people gamble throughout the year, while the global online gambling market is anticipated to be valued at more than $92.9 bln by 2023.
Here we’re going to explore the impact of the pandemic in these domains, uncover new trends within the booming industries and learn what to expect for 2021.
Changes in the industries in the COVID times
Lloyd Richman, CEO of iBet Digital, thinks that since COVID-19 first hit, a lot of sportsbook bettors, who used to bet on a daily basis, started to look out for new things to bet on. “For sure, they were very unhappy, because almost all sports competitions had stopped at that moment. And this is why virtual sports have uplifted, as well as eSports”.
Lloyd briefly explained the difference between virtual sports and eSports.
“Virtual sports are predetermined or pre-recorded games architected by computer software. It’s very much a virtual video, that’s played out and then people can bet on that in real-time. Whereas in eSports people are competing against each other playing the likes of Counter-Strike or FIFA whether they’re playing individually or as teams. It’s streamed in real-time and viewers are able to bet on it the same way they do with sports.”
Will Mercer, venture director at Zag, a founder and CEO of Umaya Village, pointed out his favourite stats about eSports: “The entire of tennis as a sport can only support 300 full-time professional players, whereas League of Legends, which is just one of the many eSports, can support a thousand.”
At the end of 2020 Esports entertainment group acquired Lucky Dino for $30 mln, an online casino operator with its own proprietary casino platform. “You’ll probably see a lot more eSports levelling up with Sportsbook in 2021 because there’s a lot of money in that business”, says Lloyd Richman.
Poker also saw huge growth, in spite of the fact that just a few years ago, it was considered as a dying out product. Today poker products started to boom again across the whole industry. “People had time to kill while being stuck at home, sleeping patterns were changed and they were able to invest into things like 6-hours tournaments as opposed to quick Sit & Go games”, says Richman.
But all of this might change very quickly. “When poker was huge five years ago, eSports wasn’t really around. But today we’re seeing that virtual games are getting pushed a lot more. The same appeals to live casinos that boomed in the last few years. But all of it probably will go back into decline again, because the real sports are back”, noticed Lloyd.
From a technological perspective, there are several trends just coupling all together in an interesting way.
There’s a tremendous growth of the social media component in gaming. It became really important both in games and in-gaming infrastructure like Discord. “Gaming acts as the niche to hanging out and talking in comfort with your own communities and friends”, adds Vlad Beck, founder of Black Snow Games & co-founder of Sigma Software Group.
At the same time streaming has shown enormous growth compared to pre-pandemic. Twitch jumped from 9 billion hours watched in 2019 all the way to 17 billion in 2020. This is also accompanied by 5G getting up and running.
Casino in GTA V and the future of in-game experience
GTA V has sold over 110 million copies, making it one of the best-selling video games of all time, generating over $6 bln worth of revenue. In 2019 Rockstar released its Diamond Casino & Resort update, which lets players use real money to play its games. The casino’s chips can be purchased with in-game currency at a $1 to 1 chip ratio.
Richman believes that the full-time merging between online computer games and online casinos is happening right now. “It’s been happening, but very slowly. Rockstar released their Casino update six years after they released the original game.”
“In that week after they released the casino update, it was the most anticipated downloadable content (DLC) ever across PlayStation. They had more players playing GTA than they had in the previous six years”, emphasised Lloyd.
The audience wants to come on and play slots, walk up to blackjack people and watch virtual sports on horse racing. Rockstar merged into the casino and into gambling via creating slot games on an RPG computer game level. This is the accelerated change in gaming, and in the next 10-15 years merges like this are going to happen on a regular basis.
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Balkan's
CT Interactive launches Diamond Tree Jackpot on Inbet in Bulgaria
CT Interactive has launched the Diamond Tree Jackpot on Inbet in Bulgaria, marking another important step in the company’s expansion across regulated European markets. The multi-currency jackpot system combines some of CT Interactive’s most successful slot titles into an engaging progressive jackpot experience, offering players enhanced entertainment and greater winning opportunities.
The Diamond Tree Jackpot portfolio features ten of CT Interactive’s popular slot games: 20 Mega Slot, 20 Star Party, 40 Mega Slot, 40 Treasures, Chilli Fruits, Lord of Luck, Lucky Clover, Moon Lord, Mystic Moon and Win Storm.
“Diamond Tree Jackpot brings together diverse gameplay, progressive jackpot mechanics, and multi-currency support, creating a versatile solution that appeals to a broad range of players. It is designed to help operators increase engagement, extend session durations, and achieve sustainable growth through seamless integration and player-focused features,” said Martin Ivanov, Chief Operating Officer of CT Interactive.
“The integration of Diamond Tree Jackpot further strengthens Inbet’s offering with a proven, high-impact jackpot solution. This jackpot features top-performing titles that players know and enjoy, combined with progressive mechanics, aligning perfectly with our strategy to deliver dynamic and rewarding gaming experiences,” said Vasil Parvanov, Team Lead Commercial Managers at CT Interactive.
Irena Nikolova, Casino Manager at Inbet, said: “We are delighted to introduce Diamond Tree Jackpot to our players. Together with CT Interactive, we remain committed to bringing high-quality gaming experiences and expanding our portfolio with engaging new products.”
The launch of the Diamond Tree Jackpot on Inbet in Bulgaria further strengthens CT Interactive’s presence across Europe and reinforces the company’s commitment to delivering premium gaming content and engaging jackpot solutions to regulated markets worldwide.
The post CT Interactive launches Diamond Tree Jackpot on Inbet in Bulgaria appeared first on EE Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
Artificial Intelligence
LSports and gripAI Launch Play Insurance
LSports, the world-leading provider of real-time sports data solutions, and gripAI, the artificial-intelligence company behind a new class of real-time betting products, announced a collaboration to bring Play Insurance to sportsbook operators worldwide.
Play Insurance is a bet-insurance product that lets players protect a bet for a small, AI-calculated premium. Insured players are paid back regardless of outcome, with the amount scaled to how close the bet came to winning based on match statistics. For operators, it opens a new revenue stream on top of existing handle and turns the near-miss — the single most frustrating moment in betting — into a reason for players to stay in the game.
“Retention is one of the hardest problems our operators face, and the near-miss is where they lose players. Play Insurance turns that exact moment into loyalty and a new revenue line, without giving anything away. It’s a genuinely new category, and pairing gripAI’s technology with our reach and our data gives operators something no one else offers today,” said Yoav Ziv, CRO at Lsports.
The product is powered by gripAI’s proprietary, patented pricing engine, trained on over 2.5 billion bets, which calculates every premium in real time based on live odds, the number of selections and user’s profile. Because premiums are priced per player and per bet rather than through flat, one-size cashback offers, operators keep control of their margin while giving players a genuinely tailored product. It also works alongside existing tools such as Cash Out: a player can cash out a bet and keep their insurance in play.
Play Insurance drives both engagement and retention where it matters most: 37% of players take the insurance offer, and 39% of insured players purchase insurance again.
“Betting has always been all-or-nothing, and that’s exactly what we set out to change. Our AI prices protection fairly and instantly for every bet, and with LSports as our distribution partner, we can bring it to operators around the world at the speed the industry moves “ said Tal Hayon, CEO at gripAI.
The post LSports and gripAI Launch Play Insurance appeared first on EE Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
Africa
Playson partners with Hollywoodbets for South Africa slots rollout
Playson has partnered with South African operator Hollywoodbets to roll out a selection of its slot titles to players in South Africa’s regulated market, the company said on 20th July 2026.
Under the deal, Hollywoodbets will integrate Playson content via Light & Wonder’s aggregation platform. The operator said the addition will broaden its “live games” portfolio.
The initial rollout includes Coin Strike: Hold and Win, Thunder Coins: Hold and Win, Thunder Coins XXL: Hold and Win, Diamonds Power: Hold and Win, Energy Coins: Hold and Win and 3 Carts of Gold: Hold and Win, with more releases planned.
Blanka Homor, Sales Director at Playson, said: “Partnering with Hollywoodbets represents another important milestone in our African growth strategy. As one of South Africa’s household names, Hollywoodbets offers an outstanding platform through which we can introduce our high-performing portfolio to an even wider audience.
“We are confident our games will resonate strongly with players, and we look forward to building a successful long-term partnership together.”
Wayde Dorkin, Head of Product at Hollywoodbets, said: “Playson’s portfolio has earned an excellent reputation for delivering engaging gameplay and consistent results across regulated markets, making it a valuable addition to our product offering.
“We are always looking to enhance the entertainment experience available to our players, and we are delighted to welcome a selection of Playson’s top-performing titles to the Hollywoodbets platform.”
The post Playson partners with Hollywoodbets for South Africa slots rollout appeared first on EE Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
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