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Gaming Americas Weekly Roundup – February 15-21

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Welcome to our weekly roundup of American gambling news again! It was again an eventful week in the USA, despite the still-active virus attack.

Here, we are going through the weekly highlights of the American gambling industry which include the latest news and new partnerships. Read on and get updated.

Latest News

Casinos in New York are now able to stay open until 11 pm after Governor Andrew Cuomo eased the Covid-19 countermeasures in the state. Along with casinos, the governor’s executive order also puts back the previous 10 pm curfew by an hour for restaurants, bars, gyms and fitness centres, billiards halls and any other location with a State Liquor Authority licence.

The Michigan Gaming Control Board (MGCB) has authorised the launch of another online gaming and sports betting operator. The Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians — which operates three casinos under the Four Winds brand in Dowagiac, Hartford and New Buffalo — and its platform provider, Pala Interactive LLC, join a group of other operators and platform providers the state agency has approved in recent weeks, since the two forms of gambling officially launched in the state last month.

NeoPollard Interactive has congratulated its customer network on exceptional Fiscal Year 2020 (FY20) results. NPi’s iLottery partners, including the Michigan, Virginia, New Hampshire and North Carolina Education Lotteries, achieved topline sales totaling a collective $2 billion. Just as impressive as this milestone achievement is the fact that these lotteries grew topline sales by a remarkable 89% from the previous fiscal year. FY20 is defined as the twelve-month period ending 30 June 2020 for each state except Michigan, which concluded FY20 on 30 September 2020; all four lotteries have continued to achieve significant growth in the current fiscal year.

A class-action lawsuit filed last week targets Apple for hosting and profiting from casino-style apps through the App Store, specifically titles developed by Zynga. Lodged with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Columbia, the suit takes issue with free-to-play games that offer micro-transactions, or in-app purchases, for digital currency or other forms of digital goods.

Partnerships

Playtech plc has announced that it has signed strategic agreements with various subsidiaries of Greenwood Racing, which own and operate the Parx Casino in Bensalem, Pennsylvania. The agreements include licensing of Playtech products to the Greenwood companies in the states of Michigan, Indiana, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, commencing with the launch of online casino in Michigan on Playtech’s IMS Platform and Player Account Management (PAM).

Online casino content provider Pragmatic Play has entered into a partnership with BetPlay, one of the key operators in Colombia. This new partnership will see the Colombian operator take Pragmatic Play’s entire suite of award-winning slots including the fan-favourite Wolf Gold, recent hit The Hand of Midas, and the highly acclaimed John Hunter series. BetPlay is the online gaming division of Corredor Empresarial, the country’s national lottery operator. This deal is a strategic move in Pragmatic Play’s expansion plan in Latin America, as BetPlay is one of the market leaders in the regulated country as well as the main sponsor of the National Football League (NFL).

The Director Board of Atlantic Lottery has appointed Patrick Daigle as the organisation’s interim President and CEO. Daigle began his Atlantic Lottery career in 1997 and most recently served as the Lottery’s Chief Financial Officer. Sean O’Connor, Chair of Atlantic Lottery’s Director Board, said Daigle’s nearly 25 years of proven senior leadership experience will be a valued asset to the organisation during the transitional period.

DraftKings has appointed Jennifer Aguiar as its Chief Compliance Officer. Previously, Aguiar served as the company’s Vice President of Compliance and Risk. As Chief Compliance Officer, Aguiar will be responsible for overseeing corporate compliance and enterprise risk management. Among other responsibilities, she will ensure DraftKings’ compliance with all U.S. and international licensing requirements related to daily fantasy sports, sports betting and iGaming.

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Scientific Games Appoints Ovie Doro as SVP of Data, Analytics & AI

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Scientific Games today named Ovie Doro as Senior Vice President of Data, Analytics & AI, a strategic hire that accelerates the company’s investment in data science, machine learning and AI-driven insights for its global lottery business. Doro will lead the expansion of SG Analytics, Scientific Games’ enterprise analytics group, to deliver stronger product performance, personalized player experiences and measurable ROI for lottery customers across retail and digital channels.

Driving analytics-led growth for lotteries

Scientific Games says the appointment marks a step-change in how it uses data and AI to inform lottery game development, optimize player engagement and support lottery beneficiaries. As head of SG Analytics, Doro will focus on turning large volumes of market and player data into actionable intelligence for product, sales and operations teams.

“Advanced analytics is critical to how Scientific Games supports our lottery customers and drives innovation and performance for sustainable growth,” said Pat McHugh, CEO of Scientific Games. “Doro brings deep experience understanding consumer behavior and building scalable analytics and data science capabilities at global organizations, and we’re excited to have him lead this mission-critical work.”

What Doro will lead at SG Analytics

Doro’s remit will include expanding capabilities in:

  • Market and channel intelligence to identify growth opportunities across regions and channels

  • ROI and growth modeling to quantify the value of product and marketing investments

  • Data engineering and standardized reporting to speed insights to decision-makers

  • Data science, machine learning and experimentation for personalization and cross-channel optimization

  • Visualization and business intelligence to make analytics accessible to commercial teams

These priorities are designed to better connect retail and digital play, enable experimentation-driven product improvements, and provide lotteries with measurable results that support their beneficiary missions.

Proven leader in enterprise analytics and ML

Doro brings more than a decade of experience building enterprise analytics and machine learning platforms for major consumer and e-commerce companies. Most recently he served as Senior Global Director of Data Science & Machine Learning Engineering at AB InBev, where he led the AI strategy for the company’s global B2B e-commerce platform. His prior leadership roles at Walmart and Jet.com focused on customer analytics, personalization, experimentation platforms and lifecycle modeling—translating applied research into production-grade analytics systems that drive growth and retention.

“Doro’s appointment strengthens our ability to translate data into action and value for our customers,” said Carrie Galvin, Chief Transformation & Strategy Officer at Scientific Games. “His experience building analytics capabilities that deliver real-world business outcomes will help us better serve lotteries through smarter products and performance insights.”

Background and reporting

Doro holds a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology and a Master’s degree in Applied Mathematics from KTH Royal Institute of Technology. At Scientific Games, he will report to Carrie Galvin and collaborate closely with leaders across product, technology, sales and operations.

With this hire, Scientific Games positions SG Analytics to accelerate AI-driven product development, deepen personalization, and deliver clearer ROI for lotteries worldwide—strengthening the company’s role as a data-first partner to the lottery industry.

© 2026 Scientific Games, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

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Scientific Games Announces Ovie Doro as Senior Vice President of Data, Analytics & AI

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Scientific Games has named Ovie Doro (“Doro”) as Senior Vice President of Data, Analytics & AI, strengthening the company’s investment in advanced analytics, data science and AI-driven insights to support growth and innovation across its global lottery business.

Doro will lead the expansion of the SG Analytics group, Scientific Games’ enterprise analytics practice that combines deep expertise with business intelligence tools, data and insights to support decision-making and increased performance of the company’s lottery products and services. His appointment advances the company’s industry-leading use of data and AI to help guide development of lottery games and technologies, enhance player experiences and deliver measurable, ROI-driven value for lottery customers—helping optimize performance in support of their beneficiary missions—across retail and digital channels.

“Advanced analytics is critical to how Scientific Games supports our lottery customers and drives innovation and performance for sustainable growth,” said Pat McHugh, Chief Executive Officer of Scientific Games. “Doro brings deep experience understanding consumer behavior and building scalable analytics and data science capabilities at global organizations, and we’re excited to have him lead this mission-critical work.”

Doro has more than a decade of experience in architecting and scaling enterprise analytics and machine learning platforms across global consumer and e-commerce organizations. Most recently, he served as Senior Global Director of Data Science & Machine Learning Engineering at AB InBev, where he pioneered the AI strategy for the company’s global B2B e-commerce platform, transforming it into an AI-enabled ecosystem that drove revenue growth and partner value across multiple international markets.

Doro has held senior data science leadership roles at Walmart and Jet.com, where he led teams responsible for customer analytics, experimentation platforms, personalization and lifecycle modeling. His work focused on translating applied research into production-grade analytics and machine learning systems that supported growth, retention and omnichannel engagement.

At Scientific Games, Doro will advance SG Analytics by translating data into action across market and channel intelligence, competitive and industry insights, ROI and growth modeling, data engineering, data science and machine learning, supported by standardized reporting and visualization. He will also play a central role in enabling analytics-driven product growth, personalization, experimentation and cross-channel optimization that connects retail and digital play.

Doro will report to Carrie Galvin, Chief Transformation & Strategy Officer of Scientific Games, and will work closely with leaders across product, technology, sales and operations organizations.

“Doro’s appointment strengthens our ability to translate data into action and value for our customers,” said Galvin. “His experience building analytics capabilities that deliver real-world business outcomes will help us better serve lotteries through smarter products and performance insights.”

Doro holds a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology and a Master’s degree in Applied Mathematics from KTH Royal Institute of Technology.

© 2026 Scientific Games, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

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IGT Celebrates 30th Anniversary of Wheel of Fortune Slots

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IGT, a global gaming leader, announced the 30th anniversary of the wildly popular Wheel of Fortune Slots game. Famous for awarding players $1 million-plus life-changing jackpots and the familiar “WHEEL-OF-FORTUNE!” chant that can be heard across a casino floor, Wheel of Fortune Slots is credited for changing the casino experience as the gaming industry’s first licensed slots game.

To recognize this monumental milestone, IGT kicked off a multi-month celebration that includes new product launches, coast-to-coast in-casino celebrations, contests run via Instagram and Facebook, slots influencer collaborations, a new creative campaign, a week of integrations to be featured on “Wheel of Fortune,” and more.

“For three decades, IGT’s Wheel of Fortune Slots have captivated slots players around the world and earned a reputation for delivering world-class entertainment combined with huge jackpots in casinos and online. Through our relationship with Sony Pictures Television and Carnival Cruise Line, IGT created a robust campaign for 2026 that honors the legacy of Wheel of Fortune Slots, while rewarding players and delivering value to our customers worldwide,” said Hector Fernandez, Incoming CEO of IGT.

A highly anticipated element of the campaign is IGT’s “Spin and Sail Cruise”. Presented in partnership with Carnival Cruise Line, IGT’s Spin and Sail Cruise empowers select casinos across the US to reward players with eight-day cruises aboard the Carnival Jubilee, where travelers will compete in a slot tournament with a $1 million prize pool. Players also have the chance to win a seat aboard the November Spin and Sail Cruise via contests run on the IGT Jackpots Facebook and IGT Gaming North America Instagram pages.

“Our longstanding relationship with IGT has been a remarkable success, and we’re thrilled to continue building on that momentum as we celebrate the 30th anniversary of IGT’s Wheel of Fortune Slots. Much like our Wheel of Fortune game show, IGT’s Wheel of Fortune Slots is a category leader that resonates with a wide audience, and we value IGT’s enduring commitment to the franchise,” said Suzanne Prete, President of Game Shows at Sony Pictures Television.

IGT licenses the exclusive rights to the legendary Wheel of Fortune brand across gaming, lottery, iGaming and iLottery, and non-exclusive rights to distribute Wheel of Fortune content for free-to-play social casinos, from Sony Pictures Television, which owns and produces the long-running television program.

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