Canada

DreamHack San Diego Sets Record As Largest-Ever U.S. Festival With More Than 41,000 Attendees

Published

2 years ago

April 12, 2023

DreamHack San Diego, a three-day gaming lifestyle festival, has concluded with more than 41,000 total attendees, setting the record for the largest-ever U.S. DreamHack festival. On April 7-9 at the San Diego Convention Center, the first-ever DreamHack San Diego featured a variety of experiences for the gaming community, including esports tournaments across the most popular titles, an assortment of LAN competitions totaling nearly $1 million in prizing, musical performances, retro arcade, and much more.

“We are immensely proud of the success of DreamHack San Diego, breaking the record as the most attended U.S. festival in DreamHack history,” said Shahin Zarrabi, VP of Strategy & Growth for DreamHack. “Across three days, the festival showcased the best of gaming, esports, music, and pop culture under one roof – bringing together the global gaming community. Thank you to all our festival goers for their enthusiastic participation across both professional and amateur competitions, and congratulations to our winners.”

Special guests throughout the weekend included voice actors and actresses from the God of War, Overwatch, and Assassin’s Creed franchises, popular gaming influencers FaZe Sway and Jake Lucky, and many more.

FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS

Dream Big by DreamHack and Autism Society San Diego

In celebration of Autism Acceptance month, DreamHack San Diego partnered with Autism Society San Diego to introduce its “Dream Big” initiative to raise funding and awareness for autism. As part of Dream Big, DreamHack donated $25,000 to the organization and raised additional proceeds for the non-profit to ticket sales. Dozens of celebrities attended DreamHack San Diego in support of Dream Big, including voices from the God of War, Overwatch, and Assassin’s Creed franchises, and famous cosplayers and content creators.

European Gaming Congress 2024 (Warsaw, Poland)

DreamHack gives back to local San Diego community

DreamHack launched multiple initiatives to support San Diego during its first visit to the city including contributing $1 million worth of tickets to students at schools through the area and providing discounts for U.S. military members.

Set It Off, City of Sound rocked centerstage on Saturday night

Los Angeles-based rock band Set It Off headlined the Main Stage on Saturday. The band, which has 528 million plays on its top 10 Spotify tracks, was joined by opening acts City of Sound and Scene Queen.

COMPETITION RESULTS

Rocket League Championship Series Winter Major

$310,000 Prize Pool
WINNER: Karmine Corp

The top 16 internationally ranked Rocket League squads battled it out in San Diego for the most exciting major of the season, with online viewership peaking at over 270,000. Karmine Corp edged out FaZe Clan to secure the victory and took home the lion’s share of the $310,000 prize pool.

Snapdragon Pro Series Powered by Samsung Galaxy Mobile Challenge Finals: North America

$100,000 Prize Pool ($50,000 per title)
BRAWL STARS WINNER: STMN Esports
CLASH OF CLANS WINNER: Lotus Gaming

The Snapdragon Pro Series powered by Samsung Galaxy featured top North American mobile esports competitors as they battled for $100,000 in total prizing. Lotus Gaming took home the Snapdragon Pro Series Clash Of Clans championship title, while STMN Esports lifted the Brawl Stars trophy. Tribe Gaming and STMN Esports additionally secured spots at the highly anticipated $200,000 Mobile Masters competition at DreamHack Japan (May 13-14).

DreamHack Open Ft. Fortnite

$250,000 Prize Pool
WINNER: Kwanti & Threats

Kwanti & Threats claimed the top spot and their share of the $250,000 prize pool at the DreamHack Open Ft. Fortnite, which kicked off this weekend. The three-part Zero Build competition continues at DreamHack Dallas (June 2-4) and DreamHack Summer in Sweden (June 16-19), with the top 10 duos from each festival qualifying for the $2 million Gamers8 Featuring Fortnite event from July 6-9 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

DreamHack Fighters

$100,000 Prize Pool
WINNERS: All details are available on the website.

DreamHack San Diego featured a number of professional and amateur fighting game tournaments throughout the weekend, including Brawlhalla, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Super Smash Bros. Melee, Street Fighter V, Tekken 7, and many more. More than 11,000 viewers tuned into the official DreamHack Fighters broadcast on the final day of competition, which featured some of the event’s top competitors.

BYOC LAN Tournaments & Freeplay

$40,000 Prize Pool

BYOC LAN is the core of any DreamHack festival. DreamHack San Diego featured 10 BYOC tournaments across eight titles, including Overwatch 2, VALORANT, Rocket League, and more.

DreamHack Magic

$130,000 Prize Pool
WINNER: Joshua Willis

DreamHack San Diego hosted Round 2 of the United States Magic: The Gathering Regional Championship. The country’s best Magic: The Gathering players competed for their chance to qualify for The Gathering Pro Tour and the Magic World Championship.

Cosplay Championships

$3,000 Prize Pool

DreamHack San Diego offered a hub for local and national cosplayers. Competitors toured the festival floor, participated in the Cosplay Championships, and walked the audience through their creative process.

Novice

1st — Ashleythegraham
2nd — X_PROT_492
3rd — Kat.Cos.11

Artisan

1st — VivSai
2nd — Maike Huster
3rd — Chaosplay Karma

Expert

1st — Sinister Propz
2nd — Divine Creations
3rd — Nylo Ren

AGCO

INCENTIVE GAMES SECURES ONTARIO GAMING LICENSE

Published

11 hours ago

August 4, 2025

GamingAmericas.com

incentive-games-secures-ontario-gaming-license

Incentive Games, a leading B2B games provider, is proud to announce that it has been awarded an Ontario Gaming License by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO), effective today. This achievement enables the company to offer its portfolio of real-money games to licensed operators and players across the province.

The license underscores the Incentive Games’ commitment to meeting the highest standards of compliance, security, and operational excellence. The rigorous application process demands robust security protocols and comprehensive responsible gaming measures and affirms the company’s readiness to enter one of Canada’s most dynamic iGaming markets.

The North American market is a strategic focus for Incentive Games, and this milestone follows closely on the heels of the company receiving its Provisional Michigan gaming licence from the Michigan Gaming Control Board earlier this month.

Incentive Games will distribute its real-money gaming content in Ontario through Incentive Studios, the company’s dedicated Real-Money Gaming division, ensuring a focused and tailored approach to the market.

“Ontario represents a huge opportunity for us, and securing this license is a proud moment for the whole team,” said John Gordon, Chief Executive Officer at Incentive Games. “It reinforces our dedication to meeting the highest standards while delivering compelling real-money content. We’re looking forward to building strong relationships in the region and continuing our momentum across regulated markets worldwide.”

The post INCENTIVE GAMES SECURES ONTARIO GAMING LICENSE appeared first on Gaming and Gambling Industry in the Americas.

AGLC

AGLC Announces New Board Chair

Published

1 week ago

July 28, 2025

GamingAmericas.com

Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis (AGLC) has announced the appointment of Larry Spagnolo as the new Board Chair, effective August 15, 2025. This announcement follows the official Order in Council issued by the Alberta Government and marks a new chapter in AGLC’s ongoing commitment to support communities, encourage responsible choices and position Alberta as the best place to do business.

Larry brings a wealth of experience in technology and business leadership to the AGLC Board and will play an integral role in guiding AGLC’s strategic direction. He is currently serving as VP and GM of Emerson’s SaaS SCADA business and has held senior roles at Zedi and Telus, driving innovation, growth, and global success.

A strong advocate for education and community, Larry serves as Vice Chair of Athabasca University’s Board of Governors and has held board roles with NAIT and Polytechnics Canada. He was awarded the King Charles III Coronation Medal for his community contributions.

AGLC and the Board of Directors extend their heartfelt thanks to Len Rhodes for his leadership and dedication as Board Chair since August 2019. He decided not to seek a third term and will continue to serve in this role until August 14, 2025. Len led AGLC through some significant milestones, including reducing red tape by 51%, growth of the emerging cannabis industry and ensuring AGLC delivered a balanced approach to business development, social responsibility, and regulatory oversight.

The post AGLC Announces New Board Chair appeared first on Gaming and Gambling Industry in the Americas.

Bonus Guardian

Pinnacle Ontario live with CasinoEngine in North America debut

Published

2 weeks ago

July 24, 2025

GamingAmericas.com

pinnacle-ontario-live-with-casinoengine-in-north-america-debut

EveryMatrix has expanded its partnership with tier-1 operator Pinnacle powering its new casino in Ontario, Canada, using CasinoEngine platform technology – the first time its platform solution has gone live in North America.

The latest agreement builds on the two companies’ previous collaboration that saw EveryMatrix’s CasinoEngine productivity platform power the well-known brand’s global casino offering.

The new launch takes the relationship to North America, marking EveryMatrix’s debut CasinoEngine platform integration in that market.

BonusEngine, EveryMatrix’s cross-vertical bonusing tool will be integrated in the second phase of launch. This will equip Pinnacle Ontario with a host of bonus types as well as AI-powered bonus abuse solution Bonus Guardian.

BonusEngine is the first of multiple engagement tools from EveryMatrix’s EngageSuite that Pinnacle plans to integrate.

With this comprehensive toolkit at its disposal, and the opportunity to add even more casino products in the future, Pinnacle Ontario can tailor campaigns, segment audiences, and reward players more effectively, creating a world-class digital entertainment experience for its customers.

EveryMatrix has more than 300 global customers and holds North American licences in Ontario, New Jersey, Michigan, West Virginia, Connecticut and Pennsylvania.

Stian Enger Petersen, CEO, Casino, EveryMatrix, said: “This launch marks a key milestone for EveryMatrix as we bring our market-leading CasinoEngine platform to Canada for the first time.

“We’re delighted to expand our partnership with Pinnacle and support their ambitions in Ontario with a powerful combination of platform, content, and engagement tools that are proven to drive success.”

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