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BGC Warns Permanent Industry Damage Following Delay in Casino Reopening

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The Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) has warned that the UK Government’s last-minute reversal of plans to allow casinos to reopen on August 1 has dealt a wrecking ball to the industry, from which it may never recover.

The casino sector employs more than 14,000 people across the UK in 125 casinos and a further 4000 in the supply chain. Casinos also paid over £300 million each year in tax before the lockdown.

With casinos across England forced to remain shuttered, the BGC warns that up to 6000 jobs may be permanently lost.

In a letter to Chancellor Rishi Sunak MP on July 31, BGC described the decision to keep casinos closed as “highly illogical, inconsistent and deeply damaging to those businesses and the thousands of staff they employ.”

BGC has also rejected the Prime Minister’s categorisation of casinos as “higher risk” during his Downing Street briefing. Casinos have spent weeks and invested millions of pounds to ensure their premises are covid-secure, with measures such as perspex screens, sanitisation equipment and sophisticated track and trace systems, as well as introducing strict social distancing measures and hygiene protocols.

BGC Chief Executive Michael Dugher said: “The Government are swinging a wrecking ball right through the middle of our industry and large scale job losses, which ought to be unnecessary and avoidable, now look inevitable unless ministers act fast.”

“Casinos are a small but fundamental part of our leisure, hospitality, entertainment and tourism industry. They employ over 14,000 people across the UK and indirectly support another 4,000 jobs in the supply sector, and last year casinos paid over £5.7 million in tax per week.

“The ongoing cost of remaining in a holding pattern to reopen is clearly not sustainable, with more jobs and livelihoods being put at risk with every last minute change and delay to reopening.

“The Job Retention Scheme has helped but our members will now be forced to pay National Insurance and pension contributions on top of salaries in August while they remain closed. As furlough payments are phased out, there will be no flexibility for casinos to adapt to the new working and leisure environment and I now fear that many thousands of jobs could be lost.

“We made the all necessary preparations for safe reopening and we were given the green light by Public Health England on the basis of the significant investment made by operators, and having been told by the Government themselves that casinos posed a ‘negligible’ risk compared with the tens of thousands of other places that they have been reopened.”

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Kai Botha

QTech Games continues to move fast with Playnetic integration

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QTech Games, the leading game aggregator for all emerging markets, has announced its latest partnership with Playnetic, an emerging force in iGaming casino entertainment content allowing its platform clients access to another timely delivered portfolio of games focusing on immersive experiences.

Integrating games from one of the more visually stunning slots providers adds yet more variety to QTech Games’ premier platform, which is taking the widest range of online games to emerging territories with established names sitting alongside the industry’s most exciting up-and-coming providers. Playnetic’s standout titles include recent releases like Patrick vs Joker, alongside established fan favourites such as Joxer, Scarabs of Wealth and Lucky Licks.

Playnetic prides itself on creating engaging, innovative and high performing games that are suitable for all global gaming markets, delivering a personalised approach, which offers operators more flexibility in their iGaming content choices to suit specific markets. This integration also ensures QTech’s array of operator partners can leverage more innovative and high-performing content to stay ahead in a competitive marketplace.

Playnetic’s portfolio has been optimised for mobile, a cornerstone of QTech’s RNG model, which is founded on its fully-owned and customised technical platform, allowing games providers and operators the fastest integration available. With over 50 years’ management experience, QTech Games’ diverse range of gaming options is designed to provide a definitive one-stop shop. While its all-inclusive licence fee model, unified game launcher and wallet integration API mean clients can easily connect and access an all-encompassing portfolio in a few clicks. This has fast-become the “go-to” solution for worldwide operators across developing territories.

Philip Doftvik, QTech Games’ CEO, said: “We will continue to add fresh content to the platform, prioritising suppliers who provide unique, localised content. Playnetic’s immersive and player-focussed gaming suite fits the bill perfectly. Their content brings a new level of energy and engagement which we’re excited to share across our ever-growing group of operators.

Kai Botha, Chief Commercial Officer at Playnetic, added: “Playnetic’s mission is to create innovative, thrilling, and high preforming premium quality games that connect with players across multiple markets. For us that means casino content that is informed by market insights, advances in game play features supported by robust technology and the latest gameplay trends.

This deal marks another significant stride in enhancing our delivery efficiency, accelerating markets access to our games to connect with even more players.  We look forward to seeing our games portfolio being available through QTech’s network.”

The post QTech Games continues to move fast with Playnetic integration appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

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Andrew Cardno

SkyCity Expands its Strategic Partnership with Quick Custom Intelligence

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Quick Custom Intelligence (QCI), a leading provider of casino operational intelligence software, announced the expansion of its strategic partnership with SkyCity Entertainment Group, New Zealand’s premier entertainment and gaming company.

SkyCity has successfully utilised QCI Slots for several years to enhance operational visibility, productivity and optimisation across its gaming floors. Building on that foundation, SkyCity is now expanding its engagement with QCI to support a more integrated, enterprise-wide view of customer and operational intelligence across its properties, product channels and services.

The expanded collaboration will introduce additional capabilities within the QCI Enterprise Platform, enabling SkyCity to consolidate data from across its ecosystem and transform it into actionable insight. It introduces enhanced tools to support customer engagement, segmentation and targeted decision-making, helping teams better understand customers, tailor experiences and respond more quickly to changing customer and operational needs. This is a key capability in an increasingly omni-channel environment.

“Our partnership with QCI has developed into a truly strategic collaboration, supporting how we integrate critical customer, product, and operational intelligence,” said Christina Katsibouba, Chief Digital & Transformation Officer at SkyCity.

“As we continue to develop our digital and omni-channel strategy, this expanded engagement reflects a shared goal to use connected data and insights to make better decisions, achieve stronger customer outcomes and create long-term value across the organization. Collaborating closely with QCI allows us to operate with greater agility today, while also shaping the future of how integrated entertainment and gaming businesses utilize intelligence at scale.”

QCI’s Enterprise Platform supports casino resorts worldwide by integrating data from across gaming, hospitality, and digital environments, delivering real-time intelligence that empowers teams to improve efficiency, enhance customer engagement and make faster, more informed decisions.

“SkyCity has been an outstanding partner and an innovative leader in the gaming industry. This expansion reflects the strong foundation we’ve built together and our shared commitment leveraging connected intelligence to drive stronger customer outcomes, support omni-channel strategies, and create a more agile and data-led operating model,” said Andrew Cardno, Co-Founder and CTO of Quick Custom Intelligence.

The continued collaboration between SkyCity Entertainment Group and QCI reflects both organisations’ commitment to innovation, customer excellence and the ongoing advancement of technology within the global gaming industry.

The post SkyCity Expands its Strategic Partnership with Quick Custom Intelligence appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

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Brooks Pierce

Inspired Entertainment Announces New SaaS Distribution Agreement with Playtech

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Inspired Entertainment, a leading provider of B2B gaming content and systems, announced a new SaaS distribution agreement with Playtech, one of the world’s leading gambling technology companies.

Under the agreement, Inspired’s Virtual Sports portfolio, including its market-leading licensed content and U.S. sports offerings, will be distributed via Playtech’s Sportsbook platform to operators worldwide.

The SaaS solution features a cloud-hosted back-end integration with Playtech, allowing for modular delivery that can be adapted to customer needs. Inspired’s Virtual Sports portfolio provides operators with products designed to enhance engagement and drive player growth. This integration enables Playtech’s partners seamless access to Inspired’s Virtual Sports.

“This partnership represents a major milestone for Inspired. By becoming one of Playtech’s Virtual Sports partners, we can deliver our cutting-edge content to a wider global audience via one seamless integration,” said Brooks Pierce, President and CEO of Inspired.

“We are delighted to partner with Inspired Entertainment. This agreement extends our Virtual Sports offering and reaffirms Playtech’s commitment to providing innovative, engaging experiences to players across multiple regulated territories,” said Yori Arami, VP of Sports Commercial at Playtech.

This agreement combines Inspired’s innovative content and cloud-native delivery with Playtech’s established operator network, resulting in a more engaging virtual gaming experience for players.

The post Inspired Entertainment Announces New SaaS Distribution Agreement with Playtech appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

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