Industry News

Kalamba Games: a year of milestones and evolution

Published

4 years ago

December 7, 2021

Reading Time: 3 minutes

As 2021 draws to a close, a look back over the last 12 months reveals a period of success for Kalamba Games, and also one of great change. Kalamba CEO and Co-Founder, Steve Cutler runs us through his highlights and what he expects for 2022.

It doesn’t seem like that long ago that the team at Kalamba Games was celebrating our first anniversary, but since then, and approaching our fifth birthday in December, we’ve gone from a start-up to a recognised provider of quality products to the igaming industry. Despite 2021 still suffering from the effects of the global pandemic, it has witnessed one of the greatest years of growth for us.

Such successes don’t come easily, or without a solid product to back yourself with and we’ve been fortunate enough to have an amazing team in place that has been able to produce just that. Our line-up of games this year has been one of our strongest and most diverse ever – from the eerie fairground of Ducks Till Dawn to the spiritual sequel to one of our best performing games ever, Blazing Bull 2 – a game on which we registered the billionth spin ever made on a Kalamba game!

It’s difficult to choose the best among such a list, but the highlight was probably the eighth in our successful Joker series, Joker Times. Its classic Vegas-style reels with a twist proved a hit among players and it has even been updated for a festive outing this December with Joker Times Xmas Edition.

Launching before that, however, was Age of Huracan, which enjoyed the honour of being our 50th game release. A lot has changed since the early days of our first-ever title, and we’ve come a long way as a company, which is evident in this landmark title.

It wasn’t the only half-century we clocked up either, as our ever-growing team of tenacious innovators welcomed its 50th member. One of the great things about a company like ours is seeing how people come in and strengthen a group of hard-working colleagues that continues to support our growth ambitions and the partners we enjoy working with every day.

Our expanding portfolio of games and tools has made the job of collaborating with new clients in new jurisdictions and regions incredibly easier too. Since the turn of the year, we’ve taken our games into Italy, Spain, Greece, Colombia, Portugal, Netherlands and Sweden and these markets are set to be followed by a host of others as we move into 2022.

Perhaps the crowning glory of our recent commercial success is the award of our MGA licence, which, on top of local certifications in Sweden, Croatia, Portugal, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands; will allow us to push even further into regulated markets. It’s also been a busy year for awards, with numerous nominations and short list, particularly being nominated for Innovator of the Year at the iGaming Idol Awards, and winning silver for Best Game Soundtrack at the SBC Awards.

It’s unfortunately been another difficult year for Trade Shows, but we did manage to attend a few, with the latter half of the year culminating in a truly excellent SiGMA event which finally saw us catch up in person with so many of our past, present and now future partners.

One of the biggest shifts we’ve undertaken since our founding has been evolving into a future proof technology provider, as well as a leading games studio. The launch of our Bullseye brand, which incorporates our proprietary remote gaming server (RGS) and promotional tools product offerings is integral to our plans.

These tools began rolling out in 2020, but this year has seen a host of improvements, and 2022 will see many more that will make Bullseye an even stronger proposition for operators. Its player engagement credentials include tournaments, leaderboards, metagames with standard progressive and mystery jackpots, plus a new AI-driven predictive CRM platform, StarGazer, which is set to lead us into the new year with renewed purpose and will open up a whole new avenue for our and our partners growth roadmaps.

Bullseye, with a laser focus on an expanding games portfolio serving regulated markets, represents the next stage in the core strategy and vision we established back in 2016. Naturally, we look forward to building further on our games library but making titles interconnected via meta-features and layers will ensure we build a player driven and market-leading slots experience, not just for 2022 but for many years to come. Onwards and upwards!

AI

Tugi Tark whitepaper puts AI iGaming support at €0.15 per ticket

Published

14 hours ago

May 6, 2026

Wladimir P.

tugi-tark-whitepaper-puts-ai-igaming-support-at-e0.15-per-ticket

Tugi Tark has released a 2026 whitepaper, The economics of AI-powered iGaming customer support, arguing that AI changes the unit economics of player support and can reduce costs compared with human-led operations.

The report cites “verified pricing” of EUR 0.15 per AI-handled ticket. It compares that with fully loaded employer costs for human support in Romania and Bulgaria of EUR 1.73 to EUR 1.88 per ticket. At a “realistic” 70% AI containment rate, the whitepaper claims a blended cost of about EUR 0.67 per ticket, which it describes as roughly a 64% reduction versus a human-only baseline of EUR 1.88.

Tugi Tark says its analysis draws on Eurostat 2024 labour cost data, published research on AI chatbot benchmarks, independent iGaming player behaviour research, and operational data from its own deployments. The company estimates operators can achieve a 55% to 75% reduction in total support expenditure, and argues AI can absorb volume spikes—such as during major sporting events—without additional hiring or training lag.

Harpo Lilja, founder and CEO of TUgi Tark, said: “In 2026, the ‘wait-and-see’ approach to AI is costing operators millions in unnecessary overhead. We aren’t just talking about chatbots; we’re talking about a fundamental shift in the unit economics of player retention.”

The whitepaper also frames customer support as a retention lever, stating that payment issues account for 52% of ticket volume and that slower response times drive churn. It claims a 0.5 percentage point churn reduction could retain an additional 500 players per month for a mid-sized operator, translating to €200,000 in annual revenue based on an assumed €400 Player Lifetime Value. Tugi Tark also claims AI agents average ~7 seconds for first response versus ~60 seconds for human agents, and outlines use cases across Responsible Gambling escalation, KYC/AML workflows, and GDPR-aligned data sovereignty.

The post Tugi Tark whitepaper puts AI iGaming support at €0.15 per ticket appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

Game Development

Games Global outlines May slot roadmap with Snowborn, AreaVegas and Just For The Win

Published

15 hours ago

May 6, 2026

Wladimir P.

games-global-outlines-may-slot-roadmap-with-snowborn,-areavegas-and-just-for-the-win

Games Global has published its May content roadmap, highlighting new slot releases from Snowborn Games, AreaVegas Games and Just For The Win, and a continued push to reuse established mechanics across its studio network.

The supplier said Area Link and Power Combo will feature prominently in May’s launches. AreaVegas Games’ Area Link Chilli uses six chilli symbols above the reels tied to bonus modifiers that can trigger individually or together, including cash prizes and fixed jackpots, multipliers, instant collectors and value boosters.

Games Global also pointed to Just For The Win’s Bison Ridge Power Combo, where Link&Win is combined with Power Combo to create what it described as a more varied bonus structure.

Snowborn Games’ Volcanic Fortune is positioned around bonus modifiers such as collectors and multipliers, plus a Treasure Chest meter designed to build towards higher-value bonus outcomes.

David Reynolds, Director of Games Strategy and Partner Management at Games Global, said: “Our studios bring the craft, and May’s roadmap puts that on full display. It’s built around extending global franchises into new titles across our network, which is how we deliver breadth without compromising quality. The result is a pipeline that gives operators choice and players variety.”

The post Games Global outlines May slot roadmap with Snowborn, AreaVegas and Just For The Win appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

charity-lotteries

ZEAL posts 6% Q1 2026 revenue growth as EBITDA dips on investment spend

Published

15 hours ago

May 6, 2026

Wladimir P.

zeal-posts-6%-q1-2026-revenue-growth-as-ebitda-dips-on-investment-spend

ZEAL Network SE reported higher first-quarter 2026 revenue despite what it described as a weak jackpot environment, while profitability softened as the company increased investment. Revenue rose 6% year-on-year to €54.3 million (2025: €51.1 million). EBITDA fell to €15.5 million from €17.7 million.

“The first quarter of 2026 shows that we are consistently executing our strategy even in a weak jackpot environment: our core business is growing, and we have continued to invest in diversifying our business model,” says Andrea Behrendt, CFO of ZEAL. “Through targeted investments in new charity lotteries such as the Dream Car Raffle, we are laying the foundation for sustainable growth that is less dependent on jackpot cycles. The slightly lower EBITDA compared to the previous year is primarily a reflection of these measures.”

In the core lottery segment, ZEAL said average monthly active users increased 5% to 1,575 thousand (2025: 1,507 thousand), while new registrations climbed 11% to 274 thousand (2025: 247 thousand). Lottery billings edged up 1% to €268.0 million (2025: €264.7 million). The lottery gross margin improved to 17.8% (2025: 17.1%), with lottery revenue up 5% to €48.7 million (2025: €46.3 million).

ZEAL also used Q1 to prepare a new in-house charity lottery product. The company said it launched the Traumautoverlosung (English name: Dream Car Raffle) on 14 April 2026, its third charity lottery in Germany after freiheit+ and the Dream House Raffle.

In Games, ZEAL reported revenue up 14% to €3.9 million (2025: €3.4 million) after expanding its B2C portfolio to more than 740 titles. ZEAL said higher marketing costs (+13%) and personnel expenses (+21%) reflected continued investment in scaling charity lotteries and Games alongside the core lottery business.

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