Industry News

US iGaming: Three predictions for 2024

Published

2 years ago

December 6, 2023

Paddy Casey, Co-Founder at sports betting and iGaming developer The Unit, lists what we can expect from US iGaming in the coming year, covering regulation, the battle for market share and the importance of martech.

iGaming continues to flex its muscles

Internet gaming continues to generate extraordinary revenue in the states that have legalized and embraced it. In October, for example, Pennsylvania’s iGaming revenue was up 24% month-on-month to $154.8m; a record month for the state where the total equates to a whopping 3x the sports-betting take. Pennsylvania is by no means a standout state, as New Jersey reported a 13% year-on-year increase in iGaming revenue for September, to $166.8million.

Where iGaming is fully regulated (as we’ve seen in the six states where it is live currently, with Rhode Island expected to launch fully in Q1 or early Q2 in 2024), it drives significant revenue for the state and offers a safe and protected environment for entertainment versus offshore, unregulated casinos. As states look to plug holes in the post-pandemic era, we anticipate at least two or three states will legalize igaming in 2024, with Indiana and New York being the obvious contenders to begin that process early in the year.

As has been the case since the birth of online gaming in the late 1990s and early 2000s, there are obvious fears about problem gaming and revenue streams moving away from bricks-and mortar casinos. Legislators will drive tough, and hopefully innovative, legislation to protect land-based casinos while paving the way for iGaming, which should in fact complement the land-based casinos. Players, much like music fans, will demand access to ‘live entertainment’; whether that’s in Madison Square Garden cheering on Billy Joel, or listening to Piano Man at home while watching the NFL.

The omni-channel experience with iGaming will become more important as BetMGM for example, can deepen its relationship with players through innovations such as its New Jersey Dual Play Roulette, which offers a truly immersive omni-channel experience. Add this to possibilities around loyalty schemes for resort stays, and this will prove super crucial in the CRM and LTV lifecycles.

Aside from the obvious heavyweights, brands which put players first, treat them like the central stakeholder they ought to be, and personalize the user experience through unique and engaging product and gaming content will be the winners.

Competition creates cash

This year has been a rollercoaster, in terms of acquisitions and market exits. Kindred recently announced it will be leaving its North American experience behind as quickly as possible. Fanatics can now access every key sports betting state via its PointsBet USA acquisition and Penn Entertainment is planning to shoot for the stars by rebranding its sportsbook as ESPN Bet. Add DraftKings, FanDuel, Bet365 and BetMGM into the ring, and that is one hell of a battle for a share of players’ wallets.

Fanatics and ESPN Bet will most likely use their huge marketing budgets to attract the Gen Z bettors and casual sports fans. Winning the battle to attract, and more importantly retain, this key cohort of players will be significant. Marketing dollars will not be enough; product innovation will be crucial in the attempt to give players the experience they demand. They will demand to be entertained in ways they experience elsewhere.

Outside the ‘big three’ of FanDuel, DraftKings and BetMGM, in terms of US gaming market share, it will only be companies who continue to evolve and innovate their own offering that can close the gap. The likes of Entain and Angstrom, who are well known and have large wallets, can buy the maturity and experience needed. They can make inroads with the quality of their product and people, as well as via the acquisition of operators and challenger brands (particularly when more states go live with iGaming).

Marketing tech and needle-like focus on ROI

With the big three effectively owning the sports-betting market and making gains in the iGaming space, the chasing pack will need to innovate with needle-like focus on ROI.

Martech is crucial for success in an industry that is seeing shifts in CPAs and one that has historically not merged fragmented data very well. As there is no real single view of acquiring through to retention, and almost zero real data, technology is holding operators back in the battle to retain Gen Z bettors and give them the experiences they demand; i.e. personalization.

Therefore, a holistic 360-view of customer data which is then deployed across multiple marketing channels is the key to being competitive in this landscape. As biddable platforms rely more and more on AI, it is essential that data which is representative of quality customers is used. As experienced industry veterans know, standard first-time depositor data is not enough. In fact, relying on incomplete customer insights can be detrimental to revenue.

As we all know, customer acquisition is only the starting point. Retention and cross-sell is essential to delivering the return on ad spend required to sustain campaigns in this competitive market.

The front-of-mind game is where the winners and losers will ultimately be determined. There is no personalization without sufficient marketing technology integration. Personalization is a key cog in the retention machine you must be leveraging.

As a result, a full martech stack is needed to operate an effective marketing department. The gap between the haves and have-nots in this space will widen not just year-on-year, but also month-on-month.

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Expanse Studios

Expanse Studios Launches Super Heli Premium Across Core Markets

Published

5 hours ago

January 30, 2026

Wladimir P.

expanse-studios-launches-super-heli-premium-across-core-markets

Expanse Studios, a subsidiary of Golden Matrix Group Inc., has launched Super Heli Premium, an expanded version of its flagship crash game now live across core markets.

Super Heli Premium introduces four new gameplay mechanics designed to broaden player appeal and increase session engagement. The additions address operator demand for content that retains players without requiring promotional spend.

New Game Modes

Over/Under allows players to predict whether the crash multiplier will land above or below a set threshold, with maximum bet multipliers up to 24x. The mode rewards pattern recognition and adds a prediction layer to the base crash mechanic.

Range betting requires players to predict the multiplier range where the helicopter’s flight will end. Wider ranges offer lower payouts with reduced risk. Narrower ranges increase volatility and potential returns. The mechanic gives conservative and aggressive players different optimal strategies within the same game.

50% Cash-Out enables partial exits during active rounds. Players can secure half their stake at any multiplier while keeping the remaining half in play. The feature reduces all-or-nothing pressure and extends average session length.

Auto Play and Auto Cash-Out provide preset betting parameters for players who prefer hands-off gameplay across multiple rounds.

Regional Customisation

Operators can deploy market-specific visual themes (US, Greece, Egypt, Brazil, Japan) without changing core mechanics or RTP. The customisation supports localised marketing campaigns and cultural preferences across different jurisdictions.

The game maintains a 97% RTP across all modes and themes, matching the original Super Heli’s player return rate while adding strategic depth through the new mechanics.

Market Context

The original Super Heli became one of the most requested titles in European iGaming within months of launch, with operators reporting session lengths above industry averages and retention metrics “materially better than category norms”.

Super Heli Premium positions the title as a platform rather than a single game variant. Operators can configure volatility, bet limits and visual themes to match specific player demographics without requiring separate game integrations.

Expanse Studios currently operates across 1300+ B2B partnerships globally, with over 300 new operators added in Q3 2025 alone. Super Heli Premium expands the studio’s portfolio to 66 proprietary titles, all 100% owned IP with no licensing dependencies.

The game is now live across Expanse’s operator network in core markets globally.

The post Expanse Studios Launches Super Heli Premium Across Core Markets appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

Champions League

Flashscore reveals data behind thrilling night of Champions League action

Published

1 day ago

January 29, 2026

Wladimir P.

flashscore-reveals-data-behind-thrilling-night-of-champions-league-action

New data from Flashscore, the world’s leading platform for live scores and sports content, reveals that almost 34,000,000 users tuned in yesterday for one of the most dramatic nights in UEFA Champions League history.

The intensity of the matches generated a massive wave of digital engagement, with 18 matches all taking place at the same time on the final day of the league format.

From the football-mad streets of Brazil to the frozen research stations of Antarctica, fans across 239 countries and territories checked their phones as Benfica’s goalkeeper scored a 98th-minute header and Real Madrid crashed into the playoffs.

Martin Matejka, Marketing Director of Flashscore, said: “Yesterday wasn’t just a matchday; it was a global event and we were well prepared. When game-changing moments decide matches – from a goalkeeper’s stoppage-time header against Real Madrid to last-minute winners across Europe – the world doesn’t just watch, it reacts. Flashscore sent out over 700 million push notifications to our users as drama unfolded across the continent.

“Our data shows unprecedented engagement from all over the world, and I am glad we could bring these extraordinary moments to fans from Brazil to Antarctica.”

TOP MATCHES ranked by number of users

The drama at the Estádio da Luz dominated the global conversation, with nearly 10 million users following the Benfica-Madrid clash alone.

1 Benfica vs. Real Madrid (9,7M users): The undisputed main event. Fans flocked to the match detail as Benfica goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin scored a historic 98th-minute header to seal a 4-2 win, sending Real Madrid to the playoffs.

2 Barcelona vs. FC Copenhagen (8,3M users): Massive interest as Barcelona thrashed the Danes 4-1 to secure direct qualification to the Round of 16.

3 Napoli vs. Chelsea (5,9M users): A rollercoaster in Naples. Chelsea fought back to win 3-2, eliminating Napoli despite a stunning “Maradona-esque” pirouette goal from Antonio Vergara.

TOP PLAYERS ranked by number of users

1. Jorginho (995K users): The Kairat Almaty midfielder trended globally after scoring a penalty against his former club, Arsenal, at the Emirates Stadium—a major talking point that drove nearly 1 million profile views.

2. Anatoliy Trubin (725K users): The unlikeliest hero. The Benfica goalkeeper’s stoppage-time header against Real Madrid sent his profile traffic into the stratosphere.

3. Andreas Schjelderup (368K users): The 21-year-old Norwegian announced himself to the world with a brace against Real Madrid.

4. Kylian Mbappé (317K users): Even in defeat, the superstar commanded attention and ranked 4th. He scored twice for Madrid, but his team’s collapse was the bigger story.

TOP TEAMS ranking by users:

1. Real Madrid (1,6M users): The “Kings of Europe” falling into the playoff round after a chaotic 4-2 loss drove massive traffic.

2. Benfica (1,1M users): The victors of the night. Their miraculous comeback and “goalkeeper goal” made them the second most-clicked team worldwide.

3. Barcelona (930K users): Solid interest as they cruised to victory and the next round.

Flashscore Global Reach

While Brazil was the single most active nation, the traffic was evenly split across continents: In Europe the huge engagement was driven by fans in Italy, France, Poland, United Kingdom, Spain, Portugal, and Germany.
Africa’s continent showed massive interest, led by Nigeria, Ghana, and Ivory Coast. Football fever also swept across Asia, with significant user numbers from Indonesia, Kazakhstan, South Korea, and Uzbekistan.
The obsession reached the most remote corners of the Earth. Flashscore recorded active users from Antarctica and Christmas Island, proving that even in the most isolated locations, fans refused to miss the drama.

The post Flashscore reveals data behind thrilling night of Champions League action appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

Hunter Hunstock

Playersoft Announces Remote Enrollment to Enable Hardware-Agnostic, Cloud-Driven Player Signups Anywhere

Published

1 day ago

January 29, 2026

GamingAmericas.com

Playersoft has announced Remote Enrollment, a progressive web app that allows casino teams to enroll guests from virtually any location using any mobile hardware. By leveraging a cloud-driven architecture, Remote Enrollment supports true off-site capability for prospecting and remote sign-up.

Why it matters

Traditional enrollment workflows often depend on specific hardware, on-property connectivity, or fixed stations that can create bottlenecks and limit enrollment opportunities outside the property. Remote Enrollment removes those constraints with a hardware-agnostic progressive web app and cloud-driven architecture—while retaining the consistent, intuitive user experience Playersoft is known for.

What Remote Enrollment delivers

• A progressive web app that runs on virtually any mobile hardware—no special devices required.

• Cloud-driven operations to support off-site prospecting and remote signups.

• A dedicated prospecting feature that enables customer communication and information capture without creating accounts or introducing incomplete data into the player system.

• Conversion tracking from prospect to enrolled player to support measurable outreach efforts.

• Configurable security and policy controls aligned to property requirements.

• Integration with Playersoft ONE for operational oversight and reporting.

“Remote Enrollment is about making it easy for our clients to capture new players wherever the opportunity arises—without sacrificing control, data quality, or usability,” said Hunter Hunstock, President at Playersoft.

Availability:

Remote Enrollment is available now as part of the Playersoft ONE ecosystem.

The post Playersoft Announces Remote Enrollment to Enable Hardware-Agnostic, Cloud-Driven Player Signups Anywhere appeared first on Americas iGaming & Sports Betting News.