Latest News

BGC Warns Permanent Industry Damage Following Delay in Casino Reopening

Published

6 years ago

August 4, 2020

Reading Time: 2 minutes

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.”

Africa

EveryMatrix goes live with Betsson Africa platform rollout in Cameroon

Published

27 minutes ago

April 28, 2026

Wladimir P.

everymatrix-goes-live-with-betsson-africa-platform-rollout-in-cameroon

Turnkey casino and sportsbook integration includes PAM, payments, affiliate tools and front-end development for Betsson’s Cameroon launch.

EveryMatrix said its platform technology is now live with Betsson Africa in Cameroon after completing a full turnkey casino and sports integration.

The supplier said it was selected via a competitive tender to deliver a bespoke platform package covering front-end development, casino, sports, player account management (PAM), payments and affiliate management.

Ebbe Groes, Group Co-CEO & Co-founder EveryMatrix, said: “Delivering a full turnkey platform solution for Betsson Africa reflects the strength and maturity of our technology and delivery capabilities in regulated environments, while reinforcing our commitment to the continent.

“Our focus is on supporting a stable and compliant launch in Cameroon and working closely with the Betsson team as the operation develops.”

Rony Richa, Commercial Director at Betsson Group, said: “This launch reflects a pragmatic approach by Betsson as we explore selected regulated markets. EveryMatrix was chosen for its proven technology, regulatory experience, and capability to support a structured and controlled rollout.”

The post EveryMatrix goes live with Betsson Africa platform rollout in Cameroon appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

Adam Lewis Chief Executive Officer at AxiumAI

AxiumAI links up with ComeOn Group on real-time sportsbook personalisation

Published

27 minutes ago

April 28, 2026

Wladimir P.

axiumai-links-up-with-comeon-group-on-real-time-sportsbook-personalisation

Agentic AI tools are integrated into ComeOn Group’s proprietary sportsbook to support contextual pre-match and in-play interactions.

AxiumAI has partnered with ComeOn Group to expand real-time personalisation across ComeOn Group’s proprietary sportsbook platform.

The companies said the collaboration is aimed at improving real-time sports engagement through intelligent automation, supporting more timely and relevant interactions across key moments in the player journey and during sporting events.

AxiumAI said its technology has been integrated into ComeOn Group’s platform to complement in-house capabilities, enabling real-time contextual interactions across both pre-match and in-play events. ComeOn Group positioned the rollout as part of its continued investment in its proprietary sportsbook, following recent enhancements in trading, platform performance and product features.

Adam Lewis, Chief Executive Officer at AxiumAI, said: “We’re pleased to be supporting ComeOn Group in advancing their personalisation strategy. Their strong proprietary platform and product vision provide a solid foundation for deploying agentic engagement capabilities. We look forward to continuing the collaboration and supporting the next phase of their sportsbook development.”

Sherwin Jarvand, Chief Growth Officer at ComeOn Group, said: “Personalisation is an important part of how we continue to evolve the player experience. Our focus is on delivering relevant and timely interactions in a way that supports engagement while remaining aligned with our responsibilities as an operator. AxiumAI’s technology complements our existing capabilities and integrates well with our proprietary platform. As we continue to develop our sportsbook offering, partnerships like this play a role in enabling scalable and real-time engagement.”

The post AxiumAI links up with ComeOn Group on real-time sportsbook personalisation appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

game release

Habanero rolls out Prosperity Horse slot with accumulating Wild multipliers

Published

27 minutes ago

April 28, 2026

Wladimir P.

habanero-rolls-out-prosperity-horse-slot-with-accumulating-wild-multipliers

Habanero has released Prosperity Horse, a high-volatility 7×5 slot featuring an accumulating multiplier Wild mechanic and expanding feature set across the base game and free spins.

The game runs 28–58 paylines and is built around the Prosperity Horse Wild, which locks in place on winning combinations and increases an in-game multiplier as additional Wilds land. The multiplier does not reset between spins, with Multiplier Gates appearing at random on the reels to help boost the multiplier further.

Prosperity Horse also includes a Red Envelope mechanic that can award instant cash prizes or convert into high-value symbols. Three or more scatter symbols trigger the Free Spins feature, where expanding symbols appear more frequently and multipliers continue to increase.

For operators, the title integrates Habanero tools including Jackpot Race and a Buy Feature.

Toni Karapetrov, Head of Corporate Communications at Habanero, said: “Prosperity Horse builds on a clear set of mechanics that are easy to understand but offer strong potential as the game progresses.

“The combination of expanding symbols and multipliers gives players a consistent sense of development throughout each session while still delivering the level of volatility that many players are looking for.”

The post Habanero rolls out Prosperity Horse slot with accumulating Wild multipliers appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.