Interviews
Spain Spotlight: R Franco on navigating choppy waters

In our two-part series on Spain, Mario Benito, CCO at R. Franco Digital, explains how industry veteran R. Franco Digital is managing to keep pace with increasing restrictions at home while expanding its horizons internationally.
Talk us through R Franco’s 2021 – what were the highlights and do you feel you closed the year with some great success?
The year 2021 was another successful one for the team at R. Franco Digital. We had some massive slot releases including Buttom’s World, Jurassic Slot, and one of our first sequels, Wild West 2. Wanabet, a Spain-focused operator brand also secured an invaluable partnership with FeelSpin to integrate its technology with us, which has greatly helped us boost what we can offer when it comes to live casino. We also partnered with a great list of leading operators, a particular highlight being with our friends the Sisal Group, who now offer our extensive catalog of innovative releases across its regulated markets.
The icing on the cake, and indeed something that we’re absolutely delighted about has been the acquisition of our Gaming Supply License from the Malta Gaming Authority. This has in turn led to us being able to offer our leading online gaming portfolio to a broader international audience than ever before, and the uptake so far has been excellent. Given our heritage as Spain’s most established gaming company, our brand name has served us well in entering new territories, and we plan to continue with that momentum for the rest of 2022.
Looking over to Spain, how has the market weathered the COVID situation, and do you see the potential for this year to return to business as usual when it comes to online?
The online gaming market offers entertainment, and that’s been a key demand through the last two years. The sector has no doubt seen a boost in player engagement, and we’re seeing increasing numbers of demographics giving the iGaming world a try. This to us, and especially in Spain, represents increasing confidence in the online world, and indeed for land-based players adapting to a new preferred channel for gaming.
However, that’s not to say retail and land-based won’t rebound. The great victim of the pandemic in our industry has been land-based casinos, due to the limitations of capacity, if opening at all in some cases. However, the numbers we have seen from Q4 2021 indicate that this trend has improved since 2020’s challenges, and we’re confident of a return to normality.
Given Spain’s heavy marketing restrictions, has that affected the market’s ongoing evolution, and has it proven a challenge for marketers to get their message out?
Understandably, restrictions on advertising and marketing have presented a challenge for all domestic operators and it appears that only those with a large enough customer base in place have been able to remain profitable. From the point of view of the acquisition of new players, the restrictions have deemed it impossible to monetize promotional campaigns for both sportsbook and casino that are tier two and tier three operators, and that will no doubt have an effect.
Likewise, the restrictions in the advertising of sporting events have forced larger operators to compete with smaller operators by running promotions with affiliates. This was previously a marketing tool used by mid-sized operators but is now a key part of advertising for all companies.
There is no doubt that the biggest challenge has been adapting to advertising restrictions, in a fast and legal way. The ability to do this and change so quickly has been one thing that has always surprised me about this sector.
Given the recent news from the Spanish regulator on the introduction of loss limits – how much do you see that affecting players who back heavy favorites and also betting exchange customers?
I believe that this only affects the behaviors of players that it was initially intended for. We believe customers who enjoy our products are players who like to gamble for entertainment purposes only, so this type of limitation should not affect us or them in any way. At the same time, whenever this type of news comes out, it does affect public opinion of gambling through the fact that it is being restricted, which may imply that it needs further prohibiting or sanctions. As we see it, restricting businesses should not be the objective of any Government, however, we of course welcome any initiatives to protect players, and of course tackle problem gambling.
Spain has always been famous for its sports betting culture – how much of a cross-sell have we seen towards casinos for sports betting fans and which verticals are performing best?
Spain is a special market in Europe since there is already plenty of cross-selling between sports betting and online casinos. With that being said, one vertical’s loss will always see another’s gain and during the pandemic, while live sporting events were canceled, the sporting verticals’ decline certainly increased the online casino player base. Post pandemic effective cross-selling has become more critical than ever to ensure the acquisition of new customers, whilst retaining existing players. This can be seen in how cross-promotional campaigns were a key factor in the strong recovery of the sports betting market once live sporting events commenced. This is important because although the sports betting vertical always reigns supreme in popularity, the slot vertical is fast establishing itself as a strong competitor. Overall, as a consequence, both naturally benefit from the success of the other through cross-selling.
R Franco launched IRIS 4.0 just over a year ago and has continued to retain the Spanish crown as the market’s most advanced native platform. How much does the Spanish technological environment differ from the rest of Europe?
IRIS 4.0 has reached a significant degree of maturity and offers our customers the best guarantee of continued success, especially when it comes to Spain. Four years ago, international clients that opted for IRIS are still with us today after verifying the solidity of our newest IRIS 4.0 platform – and its testament to what it’s been able to do. We offer a fantastic arsenal of engagement boosting bonuses, campaign and promotional tools, as well as investing in many years of R&D to make sure we released the best platform possible. The trust of our customers is, as always, the greatest measure of achievement and we look forward to providing them with further developments in the future. The Spanish technological environment doesn’t differ too greatly to the rest of Europe, and this is reflected more so by the many international and domestic clients that make use of IRIS 4.0.
Last but not least, looking to 2022 and R Franco’s MGA license acquired in 2021 – what are your plans for European markets this year and what can we look forward to in the coming months?
We are close to unleashing our full potential with aggregators and customers who value us in regulated markets, which our MGA license is no doubt set to be a fantastic platform for. Soon we will also be able to demonstrate our true potential and bring our unique take on online slots to a much broader audience through new slot releases, further partnerships, and all-around growth of our business. This year has already seen the release of hit games like Witches North and Sabin of Chazos and we are thoroughly excited for what the rest of 2022 will bring – we’ve got some really creative titles in the mix, of course, do get in touch with us at [email protected]!
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Conferences in Europe
Speaking the Player’s Language: Promatic Group’s Take on Game Localization in CEE

The Prague Gaming & TECH Summit 2025 brought together some of the brightest minds in the iGaming and tech industries – and the conversation didn’t stop when the curtains closed. As this year’s General Sponsor through its Promatic Games brand, Promatic Group made a powerful impact on-stage and behind the scenes. In a dynamic keynote presentation titled “Localizing Slot Games: Does the Central European Player Need Localized Content?”, Maciej Makuszewski, iGaming Director, and Luka Oblak, Head of Product Design, explored how cultural nuances shape player engagement and game performance across regional markets.
Now, post-event, we caught up with Maciej Makuszewski to delve deeper into the topic of localization, player behavior, and what makes content truly resonate in Central and Eastern Europe.
Maciej, your keynote at the Summit offered compelling insights into how culture and language affect game engagement. What do you believe is the biggest misconception about localization in the iGaming industry today?
It is that it is enough to hire a translator of a game to deliver localized content. This is not the end of the road – on the contrary – this is just the beginning. This may sound like saying the sun rises in the east, but I still would say there can be a lot more attention paid to giving games a local touch.
But coming back to translations, nowadays, even at this basic level, we can observe so many pitfalls and mistakes that could have been avoided if people really had the player at the core of their strategy. I guess we are past this time in history of globalization that unified products and content simply entered new markets with no tailoring whatsoever and there was demand for them, because there hadn’t been much of a choice of anything else. We’d like to see companies try harder when they enter new markets. I hope we will become one that actually gets the hyperlocalization just right.
You and Luka presented some standout cases on localized content. Could you share one example that truly surprised your team – either by outperforming expectations or revealing a cultural insight you hadn’t anticipated?
I guess that would be the transformation of a simple fruit game launched as Red Hot Jackpot in Poland, into a rich animations theme game it became in Nigeria. The nigerian version of Red Hot Jackpot is called Naija Wheels and it is the exact the same math model and game logic as Red Hot Jackpot, but what makes it appealing to the local customers of slot halls in Nigeria is its hyperlocal theme. Naija Wheels is a funny story of things you see in Lagos traffic. So instead of a Cherry symbol you have a symbol of a police officer. Instead of a plum symbol, you have an okada driver from Lagos etc.
Very different game themes, same logics, same business effects – the game is a great performing slot in Poland and a superb hit in Nigeria.
In your view, what are the non-negotiables when designing localized slot content for Central and Eastern European markets? Are there elements developers often overlook?
There are so many local markets in the CEE that it is really hard to unify this. But in a nutshell – we know in our region, highly volatile fruit themed games are very popular. Having said that, it is not a surfire way to success. You may want to localize the content even further through cultural and humor references.
The ROI of local-branded slots is often debated. Based on Promatic Group’s experience, when does it make strategic and commercial sense to invest in hyper-local content – and when is it better to focus on broader appeal?
It all depends why you do this and how you measure the ROI. If you measure a single game ROI this might be a trap. It will very much depend on the math model and features of the particular game. Apart from revenue stream, there are also costs to be considered. If we’re talking about a “game reskin” then certification will be something you can optimize and so on. There are numerous ways to tackle this issue. Sometimes you can come up with a hyper local game and just launch it somewhere else to test if it works, which will boost your revenue stream and the total ROI. All in all we are very happy with our local approach and we intend to stick to it.
Let’s talk about the future. With shifting player expectations and tech advancements like AI personalization, how do you see the localization strategy evolving over the next 2–3 years at Promatic Group?
I would expect this hyperlocalization becomes a commodity in the industry. This will also require a lot of human factor so that it is done the right way. AI will speed things up, but I believe that the human touch will be key. We already have amazing tools, but using them the right way is what will make a great difference.
The post Speaking the Player’s Language: Promatic Group’s Take on Game Localization in CEE appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Compliance Updates
Navigating Legal Frontiers: Nordic Legal’s Vision for the Finnish Gambling Market

The Prague Gaming & TECH Summit 2025 brought together top experts across the iGaming and tech landscape, and Nordic Legal stood out as the event’s Scandinavian Legal Expertise Sponsor. A renowned legal advisory firm in the Nordic region, Nordic Legal continues to shape the future of gambling legislation and compliance in Europe.
In this post-event interview, we caught up with Pekka Ilmivalta, Head of the Finnish Office at Nordic Legal, to dive deeper into the firm’s insights on the upcoming Finnish gambling reform, the legal challenges it poses, and the opportunities it presents for operators preparing to enter the market.
Finland is preparing to launch its regulated gambling sector in January 2026. As an expert with over 20 years of experience in the gambling industry, how do you view its draft legislation and the current state of the Finnish gambling market?
Finns are used to gambling online, and the size of the market is close to 2 billion euros in GGR. As the market share of the national monopoly operator, Veikkaus, has declined to around 50 percent, nearly half of the gambling spending already takes place outside the Finnish regulation. Therefore, the gambling legislation reform is really needed.
The Government Proposal now being dealt with in the Finnish Parliament is generally a comprehensive and a good package. As the political parties are quite unanimous about the need for the reform, I expect the parliamentary discussion to concentrate on the balance between responsibility measures and the features making the market interesting enough for the operators to enter the regulated market. Especially marketing, use of affiliates and bonusing will, and should, be discussed.
I believe that the Parliament will approve the new legislation early next autumn and that the B2C license application process will be able to begin already in January next year.
The Finnish legislative review council has raised concerns about potential increases in gambling harms under the new regulatory framework. What measures do you believe are necessary to mitigate these risks, and how could Finland balance market liberalization with responsible gambling practices?
Personally, I think that gambling harms must be taken seriously. However, as almost half of the Finnish gambling now happens outside the regulated market, I am convinced that succeeding in channelization is a crucial starting point to really mitigate gambling harms. Therefore, attractiveness of the market and measures against the black market are extremely important. Furthermore, self-exclusion and responsible gambling tools are, of course, needed for the players. Generally, I believe that AI assisted monitoring could and will have an important role in preventing harmful gambling in the future. To really work, responsible gambling tools need to be both pragmatic and relevant for each individual player.
Considering Finland’s upcoming gambling reform, what legal and operational challenges should gambling operators be prepared for, particularly regarding compliance and player protection? Which key trends do you see shaping the market’s future?
As it seems now that affiliates and welcome bonuses will be banned, operators will have to find other means to build their brand and acquire customers. Even though traditional marketing and sponsoring are widely acceptable, I would expect to see innovative solutions to stand out from the probable marketing avalanche during the first months after the market opening. Perhaps new kinds of sponsorships or retail activities? Or even enhanced player protection measures to gain a competitive edge?
Overall, I would advise operators to start their market entry preparations early enough. The licensing procedure could take several (6 to 9) months. Also, adjusting to the local technical and player protection requirements might not happen overnight.
What insights could help Finland create a balanced and effective gambling market?
I believe that the new legislation will provide a good enough framework for a functional gambling market. However, based on experiences from Sweden and Denmark, I would point out two practical aspects crucial to making the new legislation effective: First, there needs to be collaboration between licensed operators and the new regulator. Dialogue and a mutual will to find solutions should be the common mindset. Secondly, the regulator hopefully has enough resources (tools, persons and persistence) to interfere with the black-market operations, which will evidently still exist also after the reform.
Nordic Legal has extensive experience advising European governments on regulatory best practices. How can your firm assist operators looking to enter the Finnish market and navigate the evolving legal landscape?
With our deep knowledge of Finnish legislation, extensive experience from regulatory developments in other jurisdictions, and strong industry relationships, we are well-positioned to support operators and B2B suppliers entering the Finnish market. We can offer comprehensive guidance not only on compliance and licensing, but also on navigating strategic challenges, ensuring our clients are well-prepared for a dynamic and shifting legal landscape. Our proactive approach enables us to identify regulatory changes early and help clients stay ahead of industry developments.
The post Navigating Legal Frontiers: Nordic Legal’s Vision for the Finnish Gambling Market appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Interviews
Exclusive Q&A With Bar Konson, Chief Business Development Officer at NuxGame

Online casinos are in a race to meet the growing demands of players, but many operators are being left behind. Slow payment systems, high transaction fees, and outdated software are limiting growth and hurting the player experience. But with the right tools, operators can break free from these limitations and create fluid, player-first experiences.
Bar Konson, Chief Business Development Officer at NuxGame, offers solutions that many operators have been waiting for. With NuxGame’s crypto-ready turnkey platform, operators can quickly solve common issues and roll out future-forward digital casinos that appeal to modern players. The crypto market is growing fast, with an expected $5 billion by 2030. Find out in this interview how making the most of crypto can take your casino to the next level and leave competitors behind.
The impact of crypto in iGaming is undeniable. Bar, do you believe Bitcoin is here to stay, or are we just seeing the beginning of a temporary trend?
The truth is, Bitcoin and crypto are here to stay, and it’s not just a “cool new thing” for players. They offer fast transactions, more security, and a level of transparency that players are increasingly looking for. The iGaming scene is modernizing, and those who aren’t adopting crypto solutions are definitely going to fall behind. You don’t want to watch everyone else pass you by.
So how does NuxGame support the crypto trend? What makes your platform stand out in this fast paced environment?
At NuxGame, we’re not simply handing over a crypto solution and calling it a day. We provide a fully integrated crypto casino software solution that supports multiple cryptocurrencies, but more importantly, we’re here for you every step of the way. Our customer service managers understand that each operator has unique priorities, so we work closely with you to make sure that everything works exactly the way you want it. The dashboard shows everything in real-time, while players get quicker transactions and a better overall game. And the best part is that you’re not left alone with the system integration. Our team is always ready to make your operations work exactly how you want.
I know you’ve got a lot of experience with turnkey solutions. What makes NuxGame’s turnkey casino solution a perfect fit for operators looking to add crypto into their business?
The whole idea behind a turnkey casino solution is to give operators everything they need to go live as soon as possible. When you add crypto, that means offering everything from crypto-friendly payment systems to blockchain-backed gaming for transparency and security. But the important part is that it’s not merely about putting a “crypto” label on your website and leaving it at that. We provide full integration with multi-coin support, crypto bonuses, and even real-time analytics. For operators, it’s the peace of mind that comes with knowing that upon making the switch, everything works — and it works fast. No waiting, no stress, just a revenue-boosting crypto experience. And you’ll be seeing profits in no time. Because you’ll get the tools to start engaging players immediately.
Bar, let’s talk about the notable transition from traditional casinos to online. Are operators who come from land-based casinos jumping on the crypto train? How are they adapting?
Absolutely! A lot of traditional operators are taking their first steps into the online scene and realizing crypto’s impact in it all. They already have local brand recognition, and now it’s time to take that trust and build it online. The great thing is, with crypto, they don’t have to worry about those annoying international payment delays or high fees. We help them adapt without the growing pains, offering localization for both payments and content. It’s basically taking what they already know and applying it to the online space: no need to rebuild everything. You’ve got your brand and audience — now let us help you go digital. It’s that easy.
One last thing: with all the changes happening in the iGaming space, especially with the crypto’s growing presence, what do you think operators should be focusing on in 2025?
2025 is all about speed and adaptability. Markets are moving at record pace, and operators who are stuck in the “perfect platform” mentality are going to miss the boat. Players expect fast, secure experiences, and with crypto, that’s what they get. But to keep up, operators need to launch fast, learn fast, and be ready to grow quickly. That means not over-complicating things: you don’t need to build from zero when you’ve got the right tools. With platforms like ours, operators can quickly adapt to trends, integrate new features, and focus on what really matters: delivering a fantastic player experience. The market’s moving, and those who move with it are the ones who win.
The post Exclusive Q&A With Bar Konson, Chief Business Development Officer at NuxGame appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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