Connect with us

Latest News

2021 has already overtaken 2020 with more female-led games

Published

on

Reading Time: 2 minutes

 

While women make up nearly half of all gamers, a continued study by Buzz Bingo has revealed that only 12% of next-generation video games exclusively feature a female protagonist, with 2020 being the worst year yet for female representation.

As part of this continued study, Buzz Bingo analysed every game released on PlayStation and Xbox since 2016 to see how female representation in the gaming industry has developed, as well as how this representation is unfolding in 2021.

1. PlayStation Games Year-on-Year

  • Our research showed us that 2020 was the lowest year in terms of the number of female-led games released on PlayStation consoles, with only 14 games (8.6%) released that year featuring a female protagonist.
  • 2021 is already looking more promising in terms of the number of games set to be released featuring a female lead, with 23 games (18.4%) with a female protagonist having been announced so far.
Year Female Male Mixed Ambiguous/NA/TBC Total
2016 27 120 97 62 306
2017 49 85 115 61 310
2018 27 90 98 42 257
2019 22 87 91 24 224
2020 14 53 67 29 163
2021 23 50 30 22 125

2. Xbox Games Year-on-Year

  • In three out of the six years we analysed, only 9 of the games that were released for Xbox consoles featured a female lead.
  • So far, 2021 already ranks second for the highest number of female protagonist led games for Xbox, with 14 games (12.8%) featuring a female lead having been announced or released.
Year Female Male Multiple Options Ambiguous/NA/TBC Total
2016 16 83 54 34 187
2017 9 49 65 21 144
2018 10 46 56 29 141
2019 9 49 74 16 148
2020 9 27 49 22 107
2021 14 43 30 22 109

3. The New Generation: Xbox Series X/S and PS5

  • Research from Buzz Bingo has revealed that only 51 games (12%) out of the 414 confirmed PS5 and Xbox Series X/S exclusively feature a female protagonist compared to 139 (34%) games with a male-only lead.
  • 33% of all games had both male and female protagonists or allowed the user to customise the gender.
Gender of Lead(s) Xbox Series X/S PlayStation 5 Xbox % PS5 % Total %
Female 21 30 11% 13% 12%
Male 58 81 31% 35% 34%
Multiple Options 68 68 37% 30% 33%
Ambiguous/NA/TBC 38 50 21% 22% 21%

Methodology

  • We analysed every game released on PlayStation and Xbox since 2016, and then manually checked each game to find out whether the playable character was male, female, ambiguous or had mixed options.
  • We then broke this down to find out the best and worst years for female representation in video games.
  • To determine gender, we researched wiki pages for the individual games and searched for the corresponding pronouns when necessary.

 

Source

Powered by WPeMatico

Continue Reading
Advertisement

Latest News

Scientific Games’ Scratch-Off Partnership with Florida Lottery Shatters Retail Sales Record with $7.093 Billion in 2025

Published

on

scientific-games’-scratch-off-partnership-with-florida-lottery-shatters-retail-sales-record-with-$7.093-billion-in-2025

Record Scratch-Off Performance Drives Education Funding, Florida Students Benefit from Growth

Scientific Games and the Florida Lottery announce that their long-time Scratch-Off game partnership delivered a record $7.093 billion in retail sales in calendar year 2025, breaking the previous high of $7.091 billion set in 2022. The milestone year generated more than $1.21 billion for the Florida Educational Enhancement Trust Fund, directly supporting education for Florida’s public schools, colleges, universities and Bright Futures Scholarship Program recipients.

Scratch-Off sales increased by 6.84% year-over-year, underscoring continued player demand and the strength of the Lottery’s data-driven instant game portfolio. In 2025, Scratch-Off games accounted for nearly 74% of the Florida Lottery’s total annual sales of $9.63 billion, reinforcing its role as the Lottery’s primary revenue driver.

Reginald D. Dixon, Florida Lottery Acting Secretary said, “We are extremely proud of our partnership with Scientific Games. Our work together continues to achieve high performance for our Scratch-Off games by using data analytics to inform our game portfolio planning and logistics. More than breaking a record, our efforts drove higher contribution to education for Florida’s public schools, colleges and universities, as well as the Bright Futures Scholarship Program.”

Florida Lottery winners claimed more than $5.23 billion in Scratch-Off prizes during the year, while the Lottery’s network of retailers earned $425 million in commissions from Scratch-Off sales. Outstanding performers behind the banner year included the player-favorite GOLD RUSH MULTIPLIER family of games ($1, $2, $5, $10, $20 and a new $50 game), which represented $1.29 billion in sales—more than 18.3% of total Scratch-Off sales. The WEEK FOR LIFE and HOLIDAY CASH families of games and prize-packed blowout games also made a significant impact on the year of record sales.

The Florida Lottery currently ranks among the top five performing lotteries worldwide in per-capita instant scratch game sales (La Fleur’s 2025 World Lottery Almanac).

“Scientific Games has served as the exclusive or primary supplier of Florida Lottery Scratch-Off games since the Lottery’s inception in 1988. In 1997, our relationship expanded to a full instant game partnership anchored by the Scientific Games Enhanced Partnership program,” said Angela Goodwin, Senior V.P., Instant Products, Americas. “We have collaborated closely with the Florida Lottery’s team to drive responsible growth with Scratch-Off games, and our longtime partnership has proven to be highly successful.”

Today, five of the world’s top six performing lotteries participate in SGEP, which optimizes instant game performance through advanced game design and portfolio management, data analytics, SciTrak predictive logistics and ordering, licensed brand services, and sales and marketing support. In Florida, the SGEP program is supported by Scientific Games’ operations in Orlando, which supports a network of more than 13,550 Florida Lottery retailers across the state.

With products representing 70% of instant scratch game retail sales globally, Scientific Games is the largest lottery games creator, producer and services provider in the world. The company provides retail and digital games, technology, analytics and services to 150 lotteries in 50 countries around the globe.

SciTrak™ is a trademark of Scientific Games. ©2026 Scientific Games, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

 

The post Scientific Games’ Scratch-Off Partnership with Florida Lottery Shatters Retail Sales Record with $7.093 Billion in 2025 appeared first on Americas iGaming & Sports Betting News.

Continue Reading

€10M guarantee

WSOP Europe 2026 Adds €1,000 Ladies Championship in Prague — Exclusive Gold Bracelet Up for Grabs

Published

on

wsop-europe-2026-adds-e1,000-ladies-championship-in-prague-—-exclusive-gold-bracelet-up-for-grabs

The World Series of Poker (WSOP®) has added a prestigious €1,000 Ladies Championship to the WSOP Europe 2026 schedule in Prague, set for Saturday, April 4, 2026.

The inaugural Ladies Championship highlights WSOP’s ongoing commitment to growing women’s competitive poker on the world stage and elevates the Prague festival’s lineup of headline events.

Ladies Championship: unique bracelet and premier competition

Open exclusively to female players, the new Ladies Championship offers more than a prize pool — the winner will receive a specially designed WSOP gold bracelet created uniquely for Ladies Events. This custom bracelet features additional gemstones and a distinct setting that sets it apart from standard WSOP hardware, adding prestige to the victory and reinforcing the event’s status among international women’s tournaments.

A star-studded field confirmed

The inaugural Ladies Championship is already drawing top international talent. Early registrants and confirmed players include celebrity entrant Mackenzie Dern and elite pros such as Leo Margets, Vanessa Kade, Kitty Kuo, Xuan Liu, Shiina Okamoto, Cecile Ticherfatine, and Kasey Lyn Mills. Popular poker vloggers Ashley Frank and Abby Merk, along with GGTeam’s Andrijana “Lijapoker” Gligoric, are also slated to compete. WSOP will announce additional entrants and schedule highlights on its official social channels in the weeks ahead.

WSOP Europe 2026 — festival details

WSOP Europe 2026 runs March 31 – April 12 at the Hilton Prague, and promises to be Europe’s largest poker festival of the year. The series is anchored by the €5,300 Main Event and its headline €10,000,000 guarantee, plus a deep festival schedule designed to serve professionals and recreational players alike.

Players can qualify for WSOP Europe events exclusively through GGPoker, with additional event information and updates posted on WSOP’s official channels.

Why this matters for women’s poker

Adding a dedicated Ladies Championship to the Prague schedule underscores WSOP’s strategy to broaden access and spotlight women’s competition at major international venues. The event not only creates high-profile competitive opportunities for female players but also enhances community engagement and visibility for women in poker worldwide.

For more details and the latest announcements about WSOP Europe 2026, follow WSOP on social media or check the WSOP news hub for schedule updates and player announcements.

The post WSOP Europe 2026 Adds €1,000 Ladies Championship in Prague — Exclusive Gold Bracelet Up for Grabs appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

Continue Reading

All the Ways Players Pay: Super Bowl

Paysafe research: Half of Super Bowl fans to bet in regulated North American markets

Published

on

paysafe-research:-half-of-super-bowl-fans-to-bet-in-regulated-north-american-markets

Payment speed and brand reputation remain crucial for bettors’ selection of online sportsbooks for Super Bowl LX, with 27% expecting to wager more than usual

In the countdown to this Sunday’s Super Bowl LX in Santa Clara, California, 51% of fans who’ll follow the football game in U.S. states and Canadian provinces with regulated sports-betting plan to bet online, according to research issued today by leading payments platform Paysafe. The company’s All the Ways Players Pay: Super Bowl report also indicates strong interest in legal betting from fans in this year’s host state, if California were to regulate sports-betting, as well as in Texas and Canada’s Alberta.

Appetite to legally wager in California, Texas, and Alberta – with the Canadian province expected to launch its jurisdiction before year-end – rivals the regulated market, with 52% of fans keen to wager on future Super Bowls. Across these currently unregulated jurisdictions and regulated sports-betting markets alike, fans consider payments crucial for online sports betting.

Surveying fans intending to bet in the regulated markets of Florida, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Canada’s Ontario, the report reveals that 59% of them plan to place bets on game-day and 27% expect to wager more than usual. Their top criteria when choosing an online sportsbook are brand trust (prioritized by 43%) and streamlined payouts (37%). Cashing out a Super Bowl bet seamlessly is considered more important than every other non-payment factor, including good odds (30%), UX (22%), promos (21%), and sports events (14%).

Other payment factors are also instrumental in how fans in regulated markets choose sportsbooks, especially rapid deposits (prioritized by 25%) and range of payment methods (24%).

With bettors prioritizing their go-to payment methods’ availability, the battle for Super Bowl customers will likely be won in part by sportsbooks with diverse cashiers.

Across the regulated market, players’ preference for debit cards (43%) is today rivalled by digital wallets (42%). And while states like Massachusetts ban credit cards for wagering, they remain a preference for 33% overall, rising as high as 51% in New York and 47% in Ontario, the top choice in the province.

With established local payment methods (LPMs) like Venmo in the U.S. and Interac e-Transfer in Canada, it’s no surprise that 20% of bettors expect to see their favorite LPM at the cashier. And with 17% of players preferring to wager with pay-by-bank solutions and 10% favoring eCash, sportsbooks with these options will likely gain a competitive edge.

With over a quarter of bettors expecting to wager more than normal, the game offers an important short-term revenue opportunity, but the real value for operators is retaining customers for the long-haul – and here payments are also key. If the payment experience goes awry for the game, 84% of bettors would switch brands.

While California, Texas and Alberta are yet to launch regulated sports-betting markets, Super Bowl fans there are already aware of payments’ importance. If wagering were legal, fans would prioritize payment factors – fast payouts (29%) and rapid deposits (26%) – above everything but brand reputation (36%) when selecting a sportsbook.

Zak Cutler, President of Global Gaming at Paysafe, commented: “Super Bowl LX is expected to generate a record $1.71bn in legal wagers from the U.S. market alone, with an unprecedented betting volume also likely in Canada’s Ontario. The game represents a massive growth opportunity for North American online sportsbooks, and our research indicates that operators that are laser-focused on their cashiers and streamlining the payment experience will give themselves an edge in a highly competitive market.”

The post Paysafe research: Half of Super Bowl fans to bet in regulated North American markets appeared first on Americas iGaming & Sports Betting News.

Continue Reading

Trending

Get it on Google Play

Fresh slot games releases by the top brands of the industry. We provide you with the latest news straight from the entertainment industries.

The platform also hosts industry-relevant webinars, and provides detailed reports, making it a one-stop resource for anyone seeking information about operators, suppliers, regulators, and professional services in the European gaming market. The portal's primary goal is to keep its extensive reader base updated on the latest happenings, trends, and developments within the gaming and gambling sector, with an emphasis on the European market while also covering pertinent global news. It's an indispensable resource for gaming professionals, operators, and enthusiasts alike.

Contact us: [email protected]

Editorial / PR Submissions: [email protected]

Copyright © 2015 - 2024 - Recent Slot Releases is part of HIPTHER Agency. Registered in Romania under Proshirt SRL, Company number: 2134306, EU VAT ID: RO21343605. Office address: Blvd. 1 Decembrie 1918 nr.5, Targu Mures, Romania