Canada
In the United States, a New Championship Esports Qualifying Series Will Debut
The crypto, esports, and gambling industry has been growing at an equal pace over the past few years. Naturally, states try to invest as much as possible in these sectors. Especially in the Esports sector, almost all countries compete with each other.
The most important of these countries is undoubtedly the United States of America. The USA is preparing for a significant Esports initiative in the year 2022. In the statement made by the USEF, the United States Esports Federation, they stated that they have a plan to cover the whole country. They also announced at the USEF Esports industry conference that they are starting to develop national championship tournaments that could be the first of their kind.
In addition, USEF will run an incentive campaign to attract Esports players and fans from all over the country. Then, the USEF announced that it would launch national qualifiers to form the US National Esports team. It seems that the rise of Esports will continue in 2022.
We decided to evaluate the relationship between USEF and Esports in today’s article. We will also briefly touch on the reflections of the rise of Esports on the crypto and gambling industry. If you’re ready, let’s start.
Esports is Growing Rapidly Globally
As we mentioned at the beginning of our article, the esports, crypto and gambling industry continues to grow at an equal pace. Because these three sectors continue to create a different ecosystem by influencing each other. For example, different platforms that allow you to bet on esports using crypto, such as Thunderpick have started to emerge. No matter where you live, you can place bets on online Esports tournaments around the world. This also helps the Esports ecosystem flourish. Sponsorships, partnerships and many other agreements are making the sectors come alive.
Naturally, governments want to get their share from a sector where cash flow is very high. We can see the first example of this with the United States. They want to identify the best players by starting a national Esports qualifying process.
However, they also want to create a forensic and standard elimination system for National team selection. It is also within the scope of organizing many tournaments to discover the best of USA’s digital world. Especially the fact that these tournaments are on a national scale is of great interest to municipalities and venues in that region. Because we think that the economic activity in the regions belonging to the cities where major Esports tournaments are held will be positively affected.
There are also Esports related initiatives in some schools at the moment. Perhaps in the future there will even be lessons like how and why to start Esports in all schools. Regardless, the future of Esports seems to cover the entire system.
USEF’s Goals
USEF’s newly elected president, David Geddes, made a series of statements about the process at the Esports travel summit. Florida has called to attend the conference with the leading names of the industry to be held in Daytona Beach. While the conference was organized by the Esports Travel Summit, the company’s vice president, Jason Gewirtz, made the following statement:
“The Esports Travel Summit was designed to bring together stakeholders in the esports industry to help support the growth of in-person esports events,”
When he came to the partnership with the USEF, he continued his words as follows;
“the perfect example of the kinds of connections we are looking to foster with our event, since their approach to uniting stakeholders and growing a national team is the best of what we see in the future of esports events. We’re excited to offer attendees in Daytona the chance to meet them and hear more about their vision for the future.”
Comments by General Manager David Geddes
Given the partnership, Mr. Geddes from USEF is very optimistic about the new plans. He started his speech by referring to covid and then the Esports industry and continued his words as follows;
“We are very excited by the post-covid wave of interest to host in-person competitions, the esports industry is unifying just like other NGBs, such as USA Soccer or USA Climbing.”
He also added the following to his speech on establishing a national team for Esports;
“He went on to add, “I am so delighted when I think about how our nation’s esports competitors will face off to qualify for the national team – celebrity esports athletes will be made during our championship series of events.”
USEF has now stepped up the work for the Esports team that will form the entire USA national team. They are considering sending a team to the IESF Panama cup in Buenos Aires. Likewise, it appears that they have long-term plans to participate in the 2022 IESF World championship in Indonesia.
Final Words
We greatly appreciate initiatives such as the USEF and IESF that will accelerate the development of Esports. In addition, the growth of Esports enables the development of sectors such as crypto and gambling. The Esports industry is expected to grow up to US$1.62 billion in the coming years. Currently, according to current figures, this value was equivalent to US$ 1.084 billion by 2021.
In fact, let’s take a look at the biggest Esports tournaments of 2022. Then you can understand exactly what we mean.
It seems that in the future, investments in Esports teams and players will increase considerably. We may start seeing Esports internationally, even at the Olympic games. This sounds extremely exciting.
If you want to access up-to-date information about the Esports world, don’t forget to follow us. Goodbye!
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Bragg Gaming Group
Bragg Strengthens Executive Team for Enhanced Content Strategy, North American Growth, and AI-First Transformation
Bragg Gaming Group has announced the appointment of Morten Tonnesen as its new Chief Operating Officer and the promotion of Garrick Morris to the position of Executive Vice President of Global Content, US and Canada.
These immediate management changes emphasize Bragg’s strategic focus on aggressively scaling and expanding the high-margin content business globally, especially throughout the US and Canada. This global content business demonstrated significant growth, increasing by 76% in Q4-2025 compared to Q4-2024 and achieving 69% growth for the full year 2025 compared to 2024. This growth is supported by the acceleration of the “Bragg AI Brain” initiative and the company’s future presence in key emerging markets, such as Historical and Live Racing and Prediction markets. The organizational realignment represents the necessary final steps following the structural cost changes announced in January 2026.
Matevž Mazij, CEO of Bragg Gaming Group, said: “I’m thrilled to welcome Morten to Bragg and congratulate Garrick on his promotion. Both leaders are highly qualified, bringing extensive iGaming expertise that will be vital as we embark on our next chapter: becoming a global B2B leader in Content, Engagement, and Infrastructure and what we believe will be iGaming’s ‘AI-First’ company. Our cutting-edge tech stack has moved beyond the investment phase and is now a proven cash generator engineered for horizontal scaling.
“We believe their contributions will strengthen our ability to deliver operational leverage, meet our goals to streamline internal processes, enhance overall efficiency across our organization, and advance us further along the path toward EBITDA growth and net profitability. Importantly, with Morten streamlining operations and Garrick focused on U.S. and Global content expansion, we also believe that we are uniquely positioned to provide the robust iGaming ecosystems required by leading players in the evolving Historical and Live Racing and Prediction markets. We believe Bragg will stand out as the sole B2B provider operating at the convergence of iGaming, Sports, and Predictions.”
As Chief Operating Officer, Mr. Tonnesen’s mandate includes driving operational leverage and implementing Bragg’s ambitious artificial intelligence (AI) transformation. The goal of this transformation is to establish Bragg as an AI-First company by 2027. This transition is supported by specific 2027 objectives: ensuring AI-Enhanced Products are standard in over 90% of new launches and integrating AI into more than three-quarters of Bragg’s operational workflows.
Mr. Tonnesen brings over 17 years of progressive leadership experience in the iGaming, sports betting and technology sectors. He is recognized for his expertise in scaling complex businesses, driving cost efficiencies and operational excellence, and successfully executing high-impact initiatives to expand into new markets and achieve profitable growth. Before joining Bragg, Mr. Tonnesen served as Chief Growth Officer at Xtremepush, a leading provider of AI-powered CRM and loyalty marketing. Prior to his role at Xtremepush, which he joined in 2024, he was Chief Commercial Officer at Shape Games, an award-winning digital B2B platform and service provider for the iGaming industry, which was subsequently sold to Kambi. Earlier in his career, he co-founded and successfully exited the sports betting operator BetWarrior, now a major player in LatAm. He also spent six years in various roles at PokerStars. Mr. Tonnesen holds a Bachelor of Science in General Economics and a Master of Science in Strategy, Management, and Organisation from Copenhagen Business School.
Mr. Tonnesen said: “It has been captivating to watch the scale, scope and speed with which Bragg is already building the Bragg AI Brain and, thereby, transforming itself into an AI-first company. With Bragg navigating a combination of increasingly complex regulatory compliance requirements and recent tax headwinds in the Netherlands and other regions, exciting new emerging market opportunities in the U.S. and elsewhere, and potential consolidation in the overall global iGaming and Prediction markets, my near-term focus will be squarely on helping steer the Bragg AI Brain toward protecting the Company’s cash runway and driving its EBITDA growth.”
Mr. Morris first joined Bragg as Senior Vice President Commercial for the U.S. & Canada in 2024. In an iGaming management career spanning more than 15 years, before joining Bragg, he served as Chief Operating Officer at Digital Gaming Corporation, Operations Manager at Microgaming, and IT Platforms Manager at Derivco. Mr. Morris has a Bachelor of Economics from Stellenbosch University.
Mr. Morris said: “Since I first joined Bragg in May 2024, we have significantly expanded our U.S. content footprint through the launch of our newest games, Remote Gaming Server technology, and Player Account Management platform. I look forward to working with the team to help further accelerate growth, including via our planned strategic entrance into the Historical and Live Racing, and Prediction markets segments, with the aim of enhancing value for our shareholders.”
The post Bragg Strengthens Executive Team for Enhanced Content Strategy, North American Growth, and AI-First Transformation appeared first on Americas iGaming & Sports Betting News.
Wazdan, the player-centric developer, has further strengthened its notable North American presence by forming a partnership with FanDuel, a top iGaming company in the area.
The deal represents a crucial milestone in Wazdan’s continuous global growth, as FanDuel introduces two feature-packed games at the same time in Ontario and Michigan, enabled by Light & Wonder’s aggregation platform.
In Ontario, gamers can experience Mighty Fish: Blue Marlin and 36 Coins, two games that highlight Wazdan’s distinctive blend of familiar themes and performance-focused mechanics. In Michigan, 12 Bells and Hot Slot: 777 Crown will offer players captivating gameplay designs centered on clarity, rhythm, and extensive features.
After the initial launch, FanDuel’s famous iGaming platform, FanDuel Casino, will have its collection expanded by a wide array of new slot games, each meticulously selected to include various Wazdan features that enhance player engagement like Cash Infinity
, Hold the Jackpot, and Sticky to Infinity, all aimed at increasing entertainment and providing tangible growth for operators.
The newest expansion capitalizes on Wazdan’s progress in North America, succeeding in Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and previous entries into West Virginia.
Radka Bacheva, Head of Sales at Wazdan, said: “Partnering with FanDuel represents a major milestone in Wazdan’s North American growth strategy and underlines the strong demand for our engagement-driven portfolio across regulated markets.
“FanDuel’s reach and reputation make them an ideal partner, and launching simultaneously in Ontario and Michigan is a powerful way to introduce our games to new audiences. We are confident that our feature-rich titles and proven mechanics will resonate strongly with players and deliver tangible value for FanDuel as we continue to scale our presence across the region.”
The post Wazdan’s North American Growth Accelerates Following FanDuel Alliance appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
PointsBet Canada confirmed it will request a hearing before the independent Licence Appeal Tribunal to contest the Notice of Proposed Order issued by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) on February 12, 2026, proposing a five-day suspension of its operator registration.
PointsBet claims that the proposed sanction overemphasized an isolated incident that was a result of human error, not a systemic issue. The company also said that it did not intentionally withhold information from gaming regulators, and it immediately sent the necessary information once it was discovered.
The operator, which launched in Ontario in April 2022, also said that it cooperated fully with the AGCO’s investigation.
“We have a strong compliance record in Ontario and remain fully committed to the highest standards of integrity and player protection. We look forward to presenting our case at the Tribunal,” said Scott Vanderwel, PointsBet Canada Chief Executive Officer.
The post PointsBet Canada to Contest Proposed 5-Day Suspension by AGCO appeared first on Americas iGaming & Sports Betting News.
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