Latest News

Wazdan appeals to the traditional slot audience with retro-inspired slots

Published

3 years ago

September 22, 2022

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Andrzej Hyla, CCO at Wazdan writes about how the company has gone back to basics in terms of the appearance of its slots in the Hot Slot™ series, applying a self-reflective approach to game design to get closer to what a ‘traditional’ slot is in a number of its products.

Slots have been around for over a hundred years, and for decades the 3×3 layout that featured cherries, lemons, and other fruity symbols was the standard for the space. Naturally, the genre has evolved to facilitate modern player preferences and their craving for new themes and a greater sense of interactivity. However, a small group of loyal followers still seek out retro games that evoke a sense of nostalgia and deliver a charm that, in their opinion, modern releases fail to.

While many believe that it is only a matter of time before traditional experiences are pushed to the peripheries of iGaming, at Wazdan, we believe there will always be a place at the table for throwback titles that utilise easy-to-understand mechanics and a classic aesthetic. As the industry continues to push forwards in terms of innovation and customisation, it also produces a steady stream of players that start to feel sentimental and reminisce about old-school gameplay, creating consistent demand for classic products.

European Gaming Congress 2024 (Warsaw, Poland)

The appeal of retro experiences

The main appeal of vintage products is the sense of nostalgia they deliver, paired with the simplicity of their mechanics. Research shows that the majority of land-based and online casino customers are casual gamers that consider slots an entertainment-based pastime.

These players see traditional experiences as something that can bring face-value excitement into their lives. Therefore, do not want to waste time learning about the complicated rules and seemingly endless combinations that modern titles provide. They seek simple, yet engaging games that provide them with many winning opportunities.

As a business that prides itself on the quality of games it produces, with an offering that spans classics and popular table games to innovative video slots, we have a responsibility to cater to all types of players. Our top-performing Hot Slot™ series, including Hot Slot™: 777 Crown, Hot Slot™: Magic Bombs, and Hot Slot™: Magic Pearls, do this by taking things back to how they used to be, employing modern features that complement the classic designs on display, rather than overpower them.

As a result, our games get recognition for the balance that they strike between traditional and contemporary, generating fantastic results for our partners.

Innovations that target modern demographics

As things stand, slots with sophisticated bonus features dominate the iGaming space as more and more players yearn for a greater sense of interaction and entertainment.

With the advent of new technologies and leaps in graphic and audio design, the slot looks different now than it did ten years ago, as do mechanics, outcomes, and even bonus rounds.

However, we believe easy-to-understand features that increase the chances of winning are the most engaging for players. Our Hot Slot™ games collection is a perfect example of how effective simple features can be in terms of driving revenue growth for operators.

Our top-performing Hot Slot™: 777 Crown proves that many players still seek simple fruit machines with basic mechanics. Although the game offers Scatters as the only special feature, it became one of the most popular slots in our portfolio.

Hot Slot™: Magic Bombs is a brand-new slot that offers our engagement-boosting Collect to Infinity™ mechanic proven to generate better results for operators. The game also introduces our brand-new Sticky to Infinity™ feature, designed to keep players immersed for longer. When combined with player-favourite Free Spins, these two innovative features guarantee increased engagement. Players immediately understand how these mechanics work and can focus on the thrilling action taking place on the reels.

The upcoming Hot Slot™: Magic Pearls slot combines classic aesthetics with our popular Hold the Jackpot bonus round, allowing players to win the Grand Jackpot of 2500x their bet in a simple re-spin-based bonus game.

What is more, our games offer customisable features, allowing players to adjust the game to their needs. For example, with our Volatility Levels™, each game can appeal to all types of players, from recreational to VIPs.

Finding the perfect balance

Providers in the iGaming space are required to be flexible and change with the times to remain relevant, serving modern players with slots that are a feast for all senses, but those that take it upon themselves to develop games for retro slot fanatics get to reap the benefits of catering to a loyal community of mature gamers.

The key to our success has been developing slots that target modern players without alienating the fans of classic slot experiences, and we have no plans to stray from this strategy.

2025 Gaming in Germany Conference

Gaming in Germany Conference Agenda

Published

57 minutes ago

September 19, 2025

George Miller

Reading Time: 2 minutes

The Gaming in Germany Conference, which will take place Tuesday, November 11, 2025, in Berlin has announced its initial agenda.

A select number of confirmed conference sessions are listed below. A more comprehensive agenda is available here.

Gaming in Germany Conference – Preliminary agenda

(Please note that all session titles are provisional.)

BLOCK I: Regulatory developments

Keynote address
Senior GGL representative

Regulatory update
Dr. Joerg Hofmann, Senior Partner, Melchers Law Firm

The state of Germany’s sports betting market
Mathias Dahms, President, Deutscher Sportwettenverband (DSWV)

The state of Germany’s virtual slots market
Dr. Dirk Quermann, President, Deutscher Online Casinoverband (DOCV)

BLOCK II: The threat of the black market

Germany’s iGaming market in numbers
Josh Hodgson, COO, H2 Gambling Capital

Operators taking a stand against the black market
Christian Heins, Director iGaming, Tipico

Illegal affiliate marketing and the role of Big Tech
Dr. Andreas Ditsche, CEO, iGaming.com

INTERMEZZO: Products & services for the German market

Innovation panel & breakout sessions sneak preview
Magno Neiva, Head of Licensing & Regulatory Compliance, Altenar; other speakers TBA

BLOCK III: Evaluating the 2021 State Gambling Treaty

On effective and proportionate gambling regulation
Alex Green, Vice President – Games, ZEAL Network

Regulation the industry should embrace
Maarten Haijer, Secretary General, EGBA

Evaluating the State Gambling Treaty: Towards a common wishlist?
Birgitte Sand, former Executive Director Spillemyndigheden; other speakers TBA

Former ZEAL executive and NOGA MD, Peter-Paul de Goeij will serve as the event’s day chair.

Business operations & breakout sessions

In addition to high-level regulatory and policy-related information, the 2025 Gaming in Germany Conference also offers highly practical information on topics such as KYC, AML, data protection, payment solutions, and much more. Breakout sessions will be hosted by trained experts and are highly interactive.

Get relevant business intelligence to give your day-to-day operations a boost!

Call for (breakout) speakers

If you are interested in delivering a presentation or participating in a product or service-themed breakout session, please contact Gaming in Germany founder Willem van Oort for more information regarding opportunities and possibilities.

We are specifically looking for expertise on business topics such as media & marketing, affiliation, compliance, and operations.

Practical information

The 2025 Gaming in Germany Conference takes place Tuesday, November 11, 2025, at the DoubleTree Hilton Ku’damm in Berlin – just 100 meters from the magnificent Kurfürstendamm!

Registration for the 2025 Gaming in Germany Conference is now open.
Don’t miss it! Register now!

Gaming in Germany webinar: Regulatory & market update

Ahead of our 2025 Gaming in Germany Conference, we are hosting a pre-conference webinar on the current state of Germany’s regulated iGaming market.

This webinar will take place on Tuesday, October 7 at 15:00 CET and will be covering the following topics:

Current regulatory & market developments
The upcoming evaluation of the 2021 State Gambling Treaty
The challenge of the black market

Dr. Joerg Hofmann, Senior Partner at Melchers Law and Germany’s leading gambling lawyer will address the latest regulatory developments. Josh Hodgson, COO at H2 Gambling Capital, will provide insight into the latest market figures.

The post Gaming in Germany Conference Agenda appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

duty of care

KSA Issues New Duty of Care Guidance for Gaming Arcades and Casinos

Published

57 minutes ago

September 19, 2025

Niji Narayan

ksa-issues-new-duty-of-care-guidance-for-gaming-arcades-and-casinos

Reading Time: 2 minutes

The Netherlands Gambling Authority (KSA) has issued new guidance for gaming arcades and casinos to improve the implementation of their duty of care. The KSA previously visited gaming arcades across the country. These visits revealed that while most arcades are paying attention to their duty of care, implementation could be improved in some areas. The guidance the KSA is now sharing with license holders contains practical tools and explanations, but no new rules.

Duty of care of arcades

With the implementation of the Gambling Act (Wet Koa), the duty of care for gaming arcades has been further expanded. This means they are obligated to prevent and mitigate gambling addiction as much as possible. Since then, gaming arcades have taken steps to comply with this requirement. However, in practice, the stated good intentions and the relevant policy are not always sufficiently aligned. The KSA has discussed this with various parties within the sector. Based on the input from these discussions, the new guidance has been developed.

Guidance

The guidance for arcades includes resources that providers can use to properly fulfill their duty of care and better inform their employees. The guide provides explanations and examples of what arcades must do and what the KSA expects of them. It also includes an overview of frequently asked questions. In addition to the guidance, a poster and an animation have been developed to raise awareness among arcade employees about the duty of care.

Along with the duty of care guidance, arcades also received a Guideline for Identity and Cruks Verification. The KSA regularly receives questions from the sector about the Cruks exclusion register. This guideline addresses the operation of Cruks and the most common questions and problems.

KSA chairman Michel Groothuizen said: “Certain key factors of the duty of care are easier to monitor for online providers than in brick-and-mortar casinos. In our conversations with arcade owners, we’ve noticed that they want to do more with the duty of care, but sometimes still struggle with its proper implementation. With this new guidance, supplemented with informational materials for employees, we’re giving them new tools to do so. In this way, we’re working together to ensure that players are optimally protected even at brick-and-mortar providers.”

The post KSA Issues New Duty of Care Guidance for Gaming Arcades and Casinos appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

Latest News

QuinnBet Expand Ospreys Partnership

Published

57 minutes ago

September 19, 2025

Niji Narayan

Reading Time: 2 minutes

The Ospreys announced that official betting partner, QuinnBet, had expanded their partnership with the Ospreys. The partnership will see QuinnBet take a place on the Ospreys shorts of all three of the team’s kits this season.

The new, multi-year partnership will see the QuinnBet logo take a prominent placement on the back of all three playing shorts.

With the Ospreys competing in front of multi-continental audiences in both the BKT URC and EPCR Challenge Cup this season, QuinnBet’s brand is set to reap the benefits.

Launched in 2017, QuinnBet, regulated by the UK Gambling Commission, and in Ireland by The Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland, has firmly established themselves in the iGaming industry by providing a socially responsible service. With an emphasis on giving more back through unique promotions and excellent customer care, QuinnBet has become a trusted name in the industry.

Head of Commercial for the Ospreys, Richard Lancaster, said: “We’re delighted that QuinnBet have decided to expand their partnership with the Ospreys. We have already built a successful relationship, and we’re looking forward to building on that even further in the coming seasons.

“Working with QuinnBet has already been hugely beneficial for us in education around Safer Gambling awareness, and we’re already planning on how to improve on this even further as we look ahead to the future.”

Niall McPartland, Head of Commercial and Sponsorship at QuinnBet, added: “We are delighted to enter this significant three-year partnership with Ospreys Rugby.

“The partnership builds on our inaugural 24/25 season sponsorship of The Ospreys, and the extension until 2028 demonstrates the success of the partnership to date and the huge regard we have for the club.

“Ospreys are one of the dominant forces in Welsh rugby, producing numerous players who have gone on to represent Wales and The Lions internationally. We are therefore privileged that our association with the club, will showcase QuinnBet at the highest level to Rugby supporters across the UK, Ireland and internationally.

“We commit to utilising the partnership to promote our brand in conjunction with Safer Gambling, which is integral to our business and which Ospreys Rugby is fully supportive of. We would like to wish everyone at the club the very best for the season ahead.”

The post QuinnBet Expand Ospreys Partnership appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.