Casino Guru’s Complaint Resolution Center (CRC) published 3,986 complaints in Q1 2026 and says it resolved 1,321 cases, returning $5,304,894 to players during the quarter.

Casino Guru said March was one of the CRC’s most active months on record, with the second-highest number of published complaints to date. The company added that ongoing cases exceeded 1,300, pointing to rising demand for third-party dispute mediation.

By volume, the most active complaint markets were Germany (657), the United Kingdom (270), Canada (240), Italy (207) and Australia (194), according to the CRC update.

Delayed payments remained the most common player-reported issue. Casino Guru also reported a March shift in complaint mix, with self-exclusion-related complaints rising to the second most frequent category for the first time in CRC history. KYC-related issues and blocked accounts were also among the most common complaint types, often linked to withdrawal delays.

Casino Guru said the quarter’s results reflect the increasing role of independent mediation as players look to third-party platforms to resolve disputes.

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RubyPlay has launched Firerose, a new studio aimed at building operator-specific casino game experiences, as suppliers and operators push for more branded content to stand out in crowded markets.

The company said Firerose is designed to let operators combine RubyPlay’s existing game catalogue with the studio’s technology and creative resources, using operator-led insight to shape games around an operator’s brand identity rather than standardised supplier content.

RubyPlay said Superbet is among the first operators to launch Firerose-powered titles. The supplier did not disclose game names or specific performance figures, but said early results showed “strong engagement metrics”.

Firerose becomes part of RubyPlay’s multi-studio structure alongside Koala Games, Mad Hat Games, Ruby Studio, and Xslots, which the company said share technology, infrastructure and distribution.

Dima Reiderman , Chief Commercial Officer at RubyPlay, said: ”Firerose represents a deliberate shift in how we think about content creation and partnership. The market is no longer driven solely by volume, but by identity. Operators want experiences that feel native to their brand and help them clearly differentiate in increasingly competitive casino environments.”

Dr. Eyal Loz, CPO at RubyPlay, added: “Firerose was created to put the operator’s voice at the centre of the creative process. Every game starts with their brand, their audience and their story, and our role is to bring that to life through the full weight of RubyPlay’s creative capabilities.

“We’re shaping experiences that players immediately associate with the operator itself. That level of ownership is what allows operators to stand out in increasingly crowded casino environments.”

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Expanse Studios, a subsidiary of Meridian Holdings Inc., announced the deployment of proprietary jackpot and tournament mechanics across its portfolio, providing B2B operator partners with engagement tools designed to enhance player entertainment value.

The system introduces two jackpot formats—Happy Hour Jackpot and Mystery Jackpot—alongside four tournament competition variants. Operators can control prize structures, scheduling parameters and promotional configurations through platform interfaces.

Happy Hour Jackpot provides scheduled jackpot events aligned with operator promotional strategies, enabling coordinated marketing campaigns and player communication around jackpot opportunities.

Mystery Jackpot delivers multi-tier progressive prize mechanics integrated into gameplay, with operator-configurable prize values and event parameters that support diverse promotional objectives.

Tournament mechanics include four competition formats:

• Bonus Buy tournaments create competitive environments for players who choose to engage with bonus purchase features, with scoring designed to reward strategic gameplay decisions.

• Spin Count tournaments track player activity across gameplay sessions, offering multiple entry opportunities and achievement-based progression that accommodates different play styles.

• Combo tournaments combine multiple competition elements, enabling operators to design promotional events that appeal to diverse player preferences and gaming behaviours.

• Time-based tournaments operate within defined promotional windows, allowing players to participate according to their own schedules while competing for tournament prizes.

“Content providers increasingly compete on operational capabilities, not just game quality. This positions our portfolio as solutions-oriented infrastructure that helps operators execute diverse promotional strategies while maintaining control over player engagement parameters,” said Damjan Stamenkovic, CEO of Expanse Studios.

Tournament formats integrate with game interfaces through standardised promotional systems designed to enhance entertainment value while providing operators with promotional flexibility.

For Expanse Studios, the deployment strengthens competitive positioning in B2B partnerships where operators increasingly evaluate content providers based on promotional feature capabilities in addition to game performance metrics.

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